Changing the Future
by Choices HP
Summary: A story about what happens after Harry and the other have read a book about the future and seeing what they could do to change what they had read.
1. Coming Back

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Yeah, finally I'm starting the follow up story to my _Changing the Future: Reading Deathly Hallows_. I hope you liked this chapter. **

**Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter One

Coming Back

It was odd, waking up after everything they had just experienced. It would have been easy to think it was some kind of strange dream, if it weren't for the fact that after a few moments it was clear that they had seemed to have shared the same dream. Not to mention the details seemed to be too well formed to be a simple dream.

"Did all that really happen?" Harry questioned as he lifted himself off the floor looking at his best friends and Ginny before dusting himself off.

"If you're talking about us reading a book about your future..." Ron started.

"Our future," Hermione corrected.

"Fine, our future," Ron said, feeling suddenly giddy as he looked at Hermione, knowing that it indeed wasn't a dream, "then yes, it did really happen."

"Hmm...we probably should write down all the major points that we remember," Hermione said thoughtfully. "It almost feels as if we're waking from a dream, what if the details start to slip like they do in a dream?"

"I'm sure that's not going..." Ron started to say.

"You really don't know that," Hermione said shaking her head, leaving the room quickly.

Ron watched her go with an amused expression. "It doesn't look like she's ever going to change."

"Would you ever want her to?" Ginny asked with a smirk.

"Of course not," Ron chuckled. "I think I'll go check to see how everyone else is doing."

"Cool," Harry said, planning on following his friend, but looking at Ginny he knew he had to say something to her first. "I'll catch up with you later."

"Sure," Ron said with a grimace, looking as if he would have preferred to stay so he could stop whatever it was that was about to happen between his best friend and his little sister. Catching the glare from his sister, however, he decided it was best for him to leave after all.

"So," Ginny said after Ron left.

"Yeah," Harry said nervously.

An awkward silence filled the room as Harry tried to think of what to say, but he didn't have any clue.

"Say something, Harry," Ginny sighed.

"I don't know what to say," he answered truthfully.

"Just tell me what you're thinking," Ginny replied simply.

"Haven't you heard enough of my thoughts over the past few days?" Harry joked, trying to smile but he couldn't.

"Those weren't your thoughts, Harry, at least not yet," Ginny shrugged. "I need to know what you're thinking now..." she hesitated before adding, "about us."

Harry sat on one of the beds in the room and closed his eyes. "I honestly don't know."

"Harry..." his hesitation hurt her more than she thought it would.

"Gin, how the hell am I supposed to know what to think after everything we just read?" Harry said looking at her, suddenly pleading her to understand. "Three days ago you were just..."

"Ron's little sister," Ginny said scornfully. "Yeah, I know."

"You were my friend, Ginny," Harry corrected. "You still are, of course... I just meant that you're one of my friends. One of my closest friends..."

"Harry!" Ginny said, raising an eyebrow as if to say that he should get to the point.

"I never thought of you in any other way before... I've never looked at you like... you know, like a girlfriend..." Harry said honestly.

Ginny couldn't deny that this hurt somewhat, but she tried to play it calmly as she asked, "And what about now? Do you think of me like that now?"

Harry stared at her, her brown eyes boring into his and again he answered honestly. "Yes."

Ginny smiled at this, but she could see there was more to that comment. She sighed, "Just say it, Harry."

"I still like Cho..." Harry said and Ginny closed her eyes. "I'm sorry, Ginny. I wish I could say something different, but it's the truth."

"I know it is, Harry," Ginny said, trying to cover her disappointment. "You've never been a good liar."

"And you're going out with Michel Corner, aren't you?" Harry wasn't sure why he said this, but he felt that he should point out that she wasn't exactly available either.

"Yeah, I am, but something tells me that's not going to last," Ginny answered, crossing her arms; she couldn't remember anything she liked about Michael right now. She turned to leave the room but Harry stopped her from going.

"Ginny, please... just give me time to figure this out," he whispered to her.

Ginny looked up at him; his face was inches away from hers and she felt a strong desire to lean in and kiss him. However, the look in his eyes made her control that impulse.

"You haven't told me the real reason why you're hesitating yet, have you?" Ginny whispered back and he smiled weakly at her. She did lean into him, but instead of kissing him like she was dying to, she hugged him. Again whispering, she said, "Just don't make me wait too long, you know how impatient I am."

Harry held her to him for a second before he pulled away and smiled at her, "I'll try to keep that in mind."

Ginny left after that, heading to her room. For some reason she felt comforted and yet annoyed by her conversation with Harry. She was hoping that revealing she had a future with Harry would make her happy, but everything just seemed so complicated right now. Yes, this was mostly due to Harry being confused about their relationship, but she herself felt confused, too. As she lay in her bed and thought about what was going to come in the future, she seriously hoped that she wouldn't go back to being shy in front of Harry.

O

Ron walked downstairs to find most of the adults were in the kitchen talking. They stopped when they noticed him enter, giving him wary looks. He grimaced, hoping that they weren't going to go back to trying to hide everything from him now, not after all they had gone through together. It didn't help that his mum was giving him that look, the one that said she very much wanted to keep things from him. She sighed, and then waved him in.

Ron smiled at her when she did this, but her expression made him sad at the same time.

"I still wish I could keep you from this," Molly said to him, looking at him in the eye, "but I can't. Harry has no choice but to be involved, and I know that you're going to stand by him..."

Ron didn't know what to say to that, so he just let his mum hug him.

"What are you doing?" he asked when he noticed that Remus was bent over a piece of parchment.

"I'm just writing down everything that we've learned over the last few days," Remus said. "I want to make sure that we remember everything important."

"I told him it was pointless," Sirius said rolling his eyes. "We know what happened, but he insisted that he has to write everything down."

"Hermione's doing the same thing," Ron chuckled. "So, what are we planning on doing now?"

"I think we should get everyone together before we discuss that," Remus said thoughtfully. "At least everyone that's in the house. Could you go get the others, Ron?"

Ron grimaced, but did as he was asked. It didn't really take long for everyone to gather downstairs. Once together, they all turned to Remus, waiting for him to speak.

"So, what's going on?" Ron asked, impatiently.

Remus smiled at the young man before turning to the group at large. "I think we should recap what we had discussed in that room first."

Everyone seemed to agree with this as they began shouting out things over one another.

"Stop!" Harry said, making everyone look at him. "Sorry, I just think it would be better if we talk one at a time."

"Good point, Harry," Sirius chuckled, and then looked at Remus. "So where should we start anyway?"

"How about we start with what the others are planning on doing?" Remus suggested. Then, before anyone could interrupt him, he started to list their plans. "Dumbledore is going to go to the Room of Requirement to get the Lost Diadem and destroy it…"

"Oh, and we're supposed to find the locket," Sirius interrupted, "find out where Kreacher is hiding it."

"And speaking of Kreacher…" Hermione said, looking pointedly at Sirius.

"I know, I know. I'm going to have to try to be nice to him," Sirius sighed.

"I thought you were starting to like him as we read the book," Harry said.

"Yeah, he was all right," Sirius admitted. "But something tells me I'm not really going to see that side of him, even if I am nice to him...but I'll try."

"You saw how fast he came around when Harry was nice to him," Hermione frowned. "I don't see..."

"There's a lot of baggage when it comes to me and Kreacher," Sirius sighed. "I think if I make it clear I'm trying to help Reg, it will help... but we'll see."

"One things for sure though, the book said that Kreacher was talking to the Malfoys," Remus reminded them. "We can't let that happen this time, or at least not in the same way."

Sirius's eyes darkened; the book had also mentioned that part of the reason he had, or will die, was because of Kreacher talking to the Malfoys. This, of course, didn't make him want to be nice to the elf, but he pushed that aside for now.

"So what was Tonks supposed to do again?" Ginny asked, in an obvious attempt to change the subject.

Remus's mouth twitched upwards at just the mention of Tonks as he said, "She's telling Kingsley and Moody... well not exactly what happened but informing them that things have changed and we're planning on having a meeting soon."

"So, are we planning on telling them about what we learned in the book?" Harry asked.

"Dumbledore wasn't clear on that, but I don't think it would be such a bad idea," Remus said.

"If they were supposed to know, wouldn't Teddy have included them in the reading?" Fred pointed out.

Again, Remus's mouth twitched upwards, this time at the mention of his son. "We can't be sure of that. We have to think of some way to get into the Lestrange's vault, hopefully without causing a huge scene and escaping on the back of a dragon..."

"Oh come on, that sounded so fun," Harry mock pouted.

"Charlie's not going to like the sound of that," George chuckled.

"Anyway, Bill and Fleur are going to try and find out what they can about the vault, but I'm not sure how much they can do," Remus went on. "However, Kingsley might be able to use his position with the Ministry, and not to mention Fudge's approval of him. He might be able to find an opening somewhere."

"So, what about the other Horcruxes? Who's going to go looking for the ring?" Molly questioned causing everyone to get tense.

"Now that is the question," Remus said gravely. "It's something that Dumbledore wanted to discuss during the meeting I know."

"There wasn't much detail in the book about that," Hermione said, looking at the notes she was writing. "I got the impression that Dumbledore was convinced that he put on the ring because he wanted to use it."

"Yes, I thought the same thing," Remus agreed as most the people in the room nodded their heads.

"But that still doesn't rule out the possibility that the ring was cursed," Hermione continued. "There might have been some kind of compulsory spell put on it that made whoever saw it want to wear it."

"Again, I thought of that too," Remus said. "And this is probably more of a problem for us now that we know what the ring is."

"What do you mean?" Hermione asked.

"Most of us would want to use the ring," Harry said, looking at Remus. "That's what you're thinking, right?"

"Yes," Remus agreed. "If there's a compulsory spell on the ring, one that was so powerful that it made Dumbledore forget that it was a Horcrux and possibly dangerous to him, it would be a danger to anyone. From everything that we've read, I doubt Voldemort knew that it was a Hallow, or what it could do, but that doesn't mean his spell wouldn't be all the more powerful now that we know.

"I can just see it now, it would make the desire to see our lost loved ones so appealing..." he continued. Just talking about it made him realize how much he wanted to see his friends again.

"We have to find someone that can handle the temptation," Harry said. "Do you think it would be easier if someone who didn't know what the stone was tried to get the ring?"

"I honestly don't know," Remus said. "However, I think it would be best if more than one person goes... it might help."

"Maybe Snape should go," Sirius said.

"You know, that poor man is probably one of the most likely to want to use that ring," Molly said.

"Since when has Snape been '_that poor man_'?" Sirius said making a face.

"I think that was about the time that he died to protect Harry," Fred said seriously.

Sirius grimaced at that and then turned to Molly. "I was only suggesting it because he mentioned something about how he might have been able to help more if he had gotten to Dumbledore quicker... I thought if something went wrong it would be good if he was on the scene."

"You might have a point, but there is no way that Severus can be anywhere near there," Remus said. "He a spy, Sirius. It wouldn't be safe for him or us if Voldemort found out he had been anywhere near one of his Horcruxes."

"So what is Snape going to be doing now?" Ginny questioned.

"From what I gathered from his last comment to Dumbledore before we returned, he's going to work on his Occlumency," Remus said.

"Why would he need to work on that?" Harry asked. "I thought I was the one who needed to learn Occlumency?"

"Yes, you do," Remus said. "And I'm going to be the one who helps you, at least at first. I'm actually going to try to teach all three of you..." he motioned to Ron and Hermione as well.

"What about us?" Fred asked. "We want to learn how to close our minds off to evil villains."

"I can teach you the basics, but Harry's the one who needs to learn the most," Remus sighed.

"So why teach Hermione and me?" Ron questioned.

"Well, the hope is that Hermione might be able to get the hang of it before you go back to school and she would be able to help you learn more," Remus said with a smirk.

"I don't really see how that's going to help unless I know how to do Legilimency," Hermione mumbled.

"That's a good point," Remus said. "We should get started on that as soon as possible. I have to say that I'm only fairly good at Legilimency myself, or at least I'm not as good as Dumbledore or Severus, but hopefully I will be able to help you all."

"Wait, so you're not going to have Snape or Dumbledore teach me?" Harry said. "Even though they are better at it than you are?"

"Dumbledore is still under the belief that it would be dangerous to be around you, Harry," Remus said. "It's important that Voldemort doesn't realize how close you two are. As for Snape... well, I'm not sure what the reason is, but something tells me it has something to do with how his opinion of you has changed."

"What's that got to do with anything?" Ron asked.

"As we all know, Snape didn't like Harry at all," Remus said. "I'm not sure how he feels now, but I don't think he can loathe you like he did before, which only makes his job harder from now on. And seeing as he has to deal with Voldemort on a regular basis, he needs to work on his Occlumency and distance himself from Harry as much as possible."

Harry grimaced. "He's going to act like a complete git when we get back to school, isn't he?"

"I wouldn't be surprised if he was worse than before," Remus replied.

"Great," Harry groaned, "that's brilliant."

"I'm just wondering, what are we going to be doing while you're all out finding the Horcruxes?" Ron asked.

"Learning Occlumency with me," Remus said.

"But..." Harry started say.

"Harry, I know you don't like this," Sirius said, "that you're not as involved in all of this as you were supposed to be. Hell I don't like it... but that's only because I don't get to do anything either..."

"Sirius," Remus said, exasperated.

"But the point is, the best thing you can do right now is learn Occlumency," Sirius continued. "You have to trust us to do our part, because we know you're going to do yours."

Harry sighed, but nodded his head.

"Good, now is that everything?" Remus asked.

There was silence after this question as everyone looked thoughtful. After several moments, it seemed that no one had anything to add, so Remus spoke again.

"Well, there should be a meeting in a few days, so just try to think of things that could help, anything we might have forgotten." With that, he sat down so he could continue writing on his parchment. Everyone else seemed to take this to mean that the meeting was over and started going their separate ways.

O

Ron was feeling nervous as he walked up the stairs after dinner. He hadn't had any time alone with Hermione since they got back, and he was starting to get an uncomfortable feeling that she was avoiding him. He couldn't be sure; he knew that she was always a little off when she was working on things, but he still felt odd that they hadn't said anything to one another. After all, they had shared a lot while reading the book.

He smiled as he remembered what it was like kissing her, more glorious than anything he had ever imagined, and yet he wasn't sure how she felt about it now. He was worried that it might have been some kind of fluke, or that she had changed her mind for some reason and now she was trying to avoid him because she didn't want to tell him.

He was so caught up in his thoughts that he nearly ran into someone coming out of his room.

"There you are," Hermione said with a smile that made his face light up in return. "I was just looking for you, but Harry didn't know where you were."

"I was in the kitchen," Ron answered simply. "Why were you looking for me?"

Hermione bite her lip nervously, a small blush spread across her cheeks. "I just wanted to talk to you."

Ron smiled at her, realizing she was just as nervous as he was, which made him feel more confident for a reason he couldn't explain. "Was talking all you wanted to do with me?" he found himself asking, waggling his eyebrows.

Hermione's blush turned a deeper shade of red as she tried to look offended by what he said, but he could see in her eyes that he was right. He leaned forward before she could say anything, resting his forehead on hers, their lips mere inches apart. She didn't hesitate to lean up and close the gap, a relieved smile playing on her lips as they kissed.


	2. At Grimmauld Place

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: I guess I forget to mention this before, but I'm going to be updating this story every week on Mondays. Oh, and I also wanted to add that I pretty much like cannon relationship, which I'm basically talking about Harry and Ginny . . . I won't say more than that it's a big part of the story. Also, some of you asked about Draco and how involved he would be in this story. The truth is not much, though I'll probably have some times when he's featured. However, I'm going to go through this story as mostly Harry perspective, though Ron, Hermione and the others will have their chapters too. **

**Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Two

At Grimmauld Place

Harry woke up with his scar prickling. He had the dream about walking through an unknown corridor again, and he realized that whatever it was, it was from Voldemort's mind. He didn't get out of his bed right away. The last two nights, or what felt like two nights, he had been somewhere he couldn't feel Voldemort's presence at all. That had been a welcome change. Though the things in the book made him uncomfortable, not having his scar hurt had allowed him to sleep in peace.

Now, as the pain started to dull, his mind wandered to the fact that he never wanted to think about. He now knew the reason why his scar hurt … why and how he was connected to Voldemort and the thought made him sick. He knew that the pain in his scar would always make him think about this, and there was nothing he could do to change that.

"You awake, Harry?" Ron asked in a whisper.

Part of him wanted to ignore Ron, but he mumbled, "Yeah."

"Happy Christmas!" Ron replied, beaming at his friend.

"Oh … that's right, it's Christmas!" Harry sat up and smiled back at his friend. He couldn't help but smile when Ron was in a good mood. He then added with a knowing look, "I don't remember you coming back last night …"

"Er …" Ron said, blushing slightly as a goofy grin spread across his face, "Hermione had a few things she wanted to talk to me about …"

"I'm sure she did," Harry chuckled. "Did you get anything good this year?" he continued, changing the subject.

"Yeah … thanks for the gloves," Ron said holding up the gift that Harry had given him. "But Hermione gave me a homework planner …"

"Well, that's very festive," Harry said, opening his own presents and noticing that he had received the same thing from Hermione. "It's her passive-aggressive way of telling us to work harder."

"I didn't know there was anything passive about her," Ron chuckled. "But something tells me I'm not going to be using this."

Harry chuckled at this as he finished opening his presents. He really liked the books that Remus and Sirius had given him, knowing that he would put them to good use. Then there was the traditional Weasley sweater, of course. Although he had received one every year since he had started at Hogwarts, this year it felt different; he felt more connected, knowing that they really did consider him part of their family.

As they made their way out of the kitchen to have breakfast, they ran into Hermione and Ginny. The latter smiled at them before she continued on her way; Harry could tell that she didn't want to be near him. He felt like an idiot for what he had done, but he was honestly confused by all that he was feeling and he wanted to be truthful with her. He noticed Hermione giving him a look that told him that she knew everything he had told Ginny, which much made him even more uncomfortable, but luckily, she didn't mention anything.

"Thanks for the book, Harry. How did you know I wanted _New Theory of Numerology_?" Hermione asked, smiling at him.

"I heard you mention it once or twice," Harry shrugged, aware that Ron was grimacing at him.

"Ron, the perfume you gave me was … unusual," Hermione added and Ron blushed, not sure if that was a good thing or not. "I like it."

"Really!" Ron said smiling.

"Well, it's not something I would have chosen myself …" Hermione started, causing the smile to fall from his face. "But it reminds me of you … I really like that."

"I'm not sure what that really means, but something tells me I should just let it go," Ron said looking confused as he moved to get closer to her. "Hmm … are you wearing it now?"

"Yes."

Ron's grinned broadly at that and he leaned in to kiss her, marveling at the fact that he was allowed to do that whenever he wanted now.

"Well, that's my cue to leave," Harry mumbled, starting to make his way downstairs.

Hermione chuckled, and pulled away from Ron, "Come on, let's get some breakfast."

"Fine," Ron said. Still smiling, he took Hermione's hand and they followed their friend down the stairs. They were all surprised to see that Percy was in the kitchen. Of course, they had forgiven him for his lapse of judgment, but that didn't mean they thought that he would come here so soon.

"What are you doing here?" Ron asked.

"Always the sensitive one, aren't you Ron?" George said.

"Doesn't that make you want to reconsider, Hermione?" Fred added.

"No," Hermione answered simply, rolling her eyes.

"It's Christmas, I wanted to spend it with the family," Percy answered his youngest brother like he hadn't heard the others talking. "Besides, I wanted to tell Remus everything that I know about Fudge as of right now …"

"It's very useful having a spy in Fudge's confidence," Remus pointed out.

"Just remember Perce, you can't let Fudge suspect you," Bill said to his brother.

"I know," Percy rolled his eyes. "He's well aware that I'm a Weasley … but I know how to deal with that …"

"Just keep acting like an overachieving arse," Fred suggested.

Percy glared at him before he replied, "Pretty much."

"It's going to take awhile to get use to this new Percy," George '_whispered_' to his twin.

"Okay, that's enough talk about this," Molly said, putting breakfast on the table. "It's Christmas!"

The breakfast really was nice, and they were able to enjoy the holiday without worrying (too much) about the war. That evening, they went to visit Arthur at the hospital, though, of course, Percy wasn't allowed to go (it would look too suspicious) and it was a nice ending to the day.

O

Again Harry woke up with his scar hurting, again seeing the corridor. This wasn't exactly how he wanted to wake up every day, but something told him he didn't have much of a choice.

"'Morning, Ron," Harry said, as he noticed his friend getting dressed. "Lessons with Remus today, eh?"

"Yeah... that's something I'm looking forward to," Ron grimaced. "I'm pretty sure that I shouldn't be learning this right now … I think it would be better if you're the only one that does it."

"Honestly, I would like it better with you doing it too," Harry said. "It might not be as important … but it's nice not to have to do something on my own for a change."

"You just don't want your head to be the only one picked at," Ron grumbled and Harry shrugged. They made their way down to the kitchen for a nice meal before they had to get to work.

Harry, Ron, and Hermione followed Remus to the sitting room, where they were joined by Bill and Sirius. Harry wasn't sure why the others were there, but he listened to what Remus had to say.

"I've been thinking about this for the last day and I thought that it would be best if we worked one on one," Remus said, noticing Harry's (and Hermione's) curious looks. "Harry, I'll be teaching you Occlumency. Sirius will be … trying to teach Ron …"

"What do you mean trying?" Sirius glared at him.

"And Bill will be working with Hermione," Remus continued, ignoring Sirius. "Harry, I think it's best if we go somewhere more private."

Harry nodded his head, and they went to the room that Remus was staying in. "The first thing I want to ask is if you understand what Occlumency and Legilimency are?"

"Er..." Harry said, and then told Remus everything he understood about those branches of magic, which, admittedly wasn't much. Remus seemed to think it was enough, however.

"You seem to have a good understanding of this," Remus smiled, "however, as I'm sure you've realized by now, the connection you have with Voldemort is different than anything we've seen before."

"I know," Harry said bitterly, moving his hand unconsciously to his scar.

Remus grimaced at his reaction; he could see that Harry was really bothered by that fact. "I didn't mean it like that... I was just trying to stress the importance for you to control your emotions."

"Remus … how am I supposed to do that?" Harry frowned. "Especially when I think about the fact that he's a part of me …"

Remus was silent for a long time, thinking about how to answer that. "Just remember who you are Harry, what you've done. He doesn't have anything to do with the person you've become, Harry … the part of his soul in you has never had an effect on who you are … so don't let it start now."

Harry smiled at him, but said, "Ignorance is bliss."

"True," Remus allowed, "but that doesn't mean we can't get to work on Occlumency."

"Let's start then," Harry agreed.

"As I have seen from your thoughts Harry, you see me as being level headed," Remus said, "always in control of my emotions … or almost always …" he mumbled the last part when he remembered how he had reacted to the thought of his son and when he was being born.

"Yes," Harry nodded his head, but was looking at Remus curiously.

"It wasn't always that way. Right after I became a werewolf, everything in my life changed," Remus continued. "I had a shorter fuse … it was so easy to get angry that I knew I had to work on controlling myself. It wasn't easy, but luckily by the time I got to Hogwarts I had made some real progress, otherwise I probably would have strangled James and Sirius …" he added with a wistful smile. "But my point is that I think that's what you have to work on most, controlling your temper …"

Harry grimaced at this. "That's easier said than done."

"I know," Remus agreed, "but as soon as you have control over your anger … it will be easier to control your other emotions. That is the key to learning Occlumency."

O

"I didn't know that you knew how to do Occlumency," Hermione said to Bill as the others left.

"It's actually a very useful tool when working with goblins," Bill said. "Of course they can't use Legilimency, but they are very good at reading faces... it's difficult to hide things from them."

Hermione nodded her head to what Bill was saying, it made sense. "And you know Legilimency too?"

"Yes, it made sense to learn Legilimency as well," Bill said. "I was the best out of all the cursebreakers in Egypt."

"What an accomplishment," Hermione smiled at him.

"It really is," Bill chuckled. "But to get the point, Remus and I agreed that I would be the best to work with you because of the way that I was taught. As you know, we are hoping that you'll master the skills enough that you can continue to work with Harry until he has better control over his Occlumency. So we really need you to learn Legilimency, but at the same time, you have to know how Occlumency works. Considering that I, too, learned these techniques at the same time, I should be able to help you."

"That sounds good to me," Hermione smiled. "What do we do first?"

"First of all, we're going to start by understanding both techniques," Bill said, pulling out a book and Hermione smiled at that. "It's important for you to understand how the techniques work together and how they work separately."

O

"Do you really know what you're doing?" Ron asked Sirius as they sat in his room.

"Yes," Sirius scowled. "I don't know how to do Legilimency … but I know about Occlumency."

Ron wasn't reassured by this, not really sure that Sirius would be able to help him, but he felt it would be good to try. After all, if Hermione was going to learn how to read minds, or whatever Legilimency was, he'd better know how to close his off.

Sirius told Ron everything he knew about Occlumency. Ron had no idea if it was helping at all, but at least he could understand what Sirius was saying. Sirius had a way with his words that made him confident that he could do this.

O

"How did it go?" Ron asked Harry as they sat down on his bed. They had both spent a good portion of the day trying to control their emotions.

"Remus taught me mediating techniques," Harry said. "Ways to calm down quickly. He said that as soon as I have control of my anger, I'll be able to control all my other emotions."

Ron grimaced. "I'm glad I'm not working with Remus... I doubt I could control my anger."

Harry chuckled. "It is difficult, but I can see that his methods work. How's it working with Sirius?"

"Good … er … I think," Ron said. "No one is actually poking around in my head yet, so I can't be sure."

"I know what you mean," Harry said. "I wonder how Hermione is doing."

"She's probably mastered both techniques by now," Ron said.

"Nervous about her reading your mind?" Harry questioned.

"Yeah … she already knows pretty much everything … I don't need her to know my whims, too," Ron frowned.

"I doubt she would read your mind," Harry said. "Especially if she knew that you didn't want her to."

"That might be true, but something tells me she's going to be dying to know what I'm thinking at some point … it's got to be tempting just to take a peek," Ron pointed out and Harry nodded his head.

"You're right … that is tempting."

"Hermione!" Ron said looking at the door. She had come up to tell them it was time for dinner.

"Sorry … I didn't mean to scare you," Hermione said, her lips twitching in amusement.

Ron disregarded that comment, "How was your lesson, Hermione?"

"I just read all day," Hermione said.

"So a perfect day for you then," Harry teased her and she narrowed her eyes at him, before turning back to Ron.

"Are you really worried that I would use Legilimency against you?" she asked.

"I know I confuse you a lot of the time …" Ron trailed off, noticing that Hermione had an almost hurt expression on.

"I wouldn't do that to you," Hermione responded. "No matter how curious I am, I promise I would never us Legilimency on you … you have my word."

"Hmph …" Ron smiled, but was thoughtful at the same time. "You can use it on me sometimes, if I say you can."

Hermione's eyebrows furrowed. "Why would you want me to use it?"

"Er … well … I'm not always good at saying how I'm feeling," Ron said rubbing the back of his head. "Things would be a lot easier if you could just know."

Hermione smiled at that. "Okay Ron. Oh … and I'm here to get you guys for dinner."

"Argh … why didn't you say that sooner?" Ron groaned and left the room.

"So, how are you really doing, Hermione?" Harry asked. As he made to follow Ron he noticed that she was frowning.

"What makes you think something's wrong?" Hermione asked defensively.

"Because I know you," Harry answered. "You just look worried."

Hermione sighed, "It's going to take a lot to master both techniques … and then they're hoping that I will be able to help you … but if I can't master it in time … I'm going to let everyone down …"

"Mione," Harry said exasperated. "I can't speak for anyone else, but you will never let me down … especially not because you can't master something that isn't even taught at school."

Hermione gave him a weak smile, "Thanks Harry … that helps."

"Anytime Mione … er … do you mind me calling you that?" Harry asked.

"I guess not," Hermione replied, smiling slightly. She had liked that only Ron had called her that, but at the same time, it felt right for Harry to use it too.

Harry smiled and then they walked down the stairs to join the rest of the people there. There were actually a lot of people there today since Tonks, Kingsley, and Mad-Eye had joined them. Harry was sure that they were planning on having that meeting tonight after dinner and he was wondering if they would be allowed to hear what was going on or not.

After dinner, a lot of the other Order members showed up and Harry was pleased and slightly surprised when he and his friends were included in this meeting. He had half expected the adults to keep him from being involved, but they all seemed to accept him and the others being there. He didn't really say anything during this meeting, mostly because he knew he wouldn't be involved in any of this. It was still interesting to hear how a meeting worked, watching Dumbledore tell everyone what they were planning on doing.

He had expected most of the meeting to cover what they had discovered in the books, and more specifically about the Horcruxes. However, the brunt of the meeting was about what the order was doing right now and other typical things like that. Harry figured that Dumbledore probably was going to talk to the selected few that either already knew or he decided he could trust with the truth. That was probably why he had asked Kinsley and Mad-Eye to stay behind. He was a little upset that he didn't get to hear about that part of the meeting too, but after everything else that happened today, he decided to let it go.


	3. The Gaunt House

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Three

The Gaunt House

Dumbledore, Moody, McGonagall, Kingsley, Remus, Sirius, Molly, Bill, Percy (whose appearance at the meeting in the first place shocked several of the people there and had Moody looking at him suspiciously the whole time) and Tonks stayed behind after the meeting was over to discuss further what they had to do now. Dumbledore, finding it impossible to keep Moody and Kingsley in the dark about what they were going after, told them briefly both about the Horcruxes (which Moody had already known about and reasoned that it was possible that Voldemort might have used them, how else could he have survived?) and reading about the future (which they were both surprised about, not knowing that was possible). Dumbledore informed them that he had already destroyed the diadem which made everyone feel relieved. However, the others were unable to find the locket anywhere, and since Kreacher hadn't returned home yet, they had to wait.

They then went into a rather lengthy discussion, in which more than one argument broke out, about what they should do about both the ring and the cup. Dumbledore had insisted that he go to the Gaunt house, knowing that he was the one that could best discover and interpret Voldemort's defenses, having taught him before and knowing his style. Remus, McGonagall and Molly were all concerned about how the ring's ability had affected him in the book, but with Dumbledore being so firm, they eventually had to give in. Choosing the people that were to go with him, in case there was some kind of complying enchantment on the ring was Moody (who they didn't tell about the ring's ability to bring back those who have died) and McGonagall (who could make Dumbledore see sense quicker than anyone else that he knew). They had also decided go to the Gaunt's the next day, wanting to get to the ring as quickly as possible.

The matter of the cup however, was a much messier business. Bill had already tried his best means to get the goblins to allow him into the Lestrange's vault. He told them about many vaults which had curses that were in need of an update, one of which was the Lestrange's. The goblins had actually approved of his initiative, allowing him to update the curses on several of the vaults, but told him flat out that they didn't want wizards anywhere near the high security vaults.

"So, what you're saying is that all you managed to do was make the cup harder to get to because there will be more curses on it," Sirius summed up after Bill explained what had happened.

"Sort of, but it's not that big of a deal," Bill shrugged. "I know the counter-curses, so they won't be that difficult to get around."

"Still, this is starting to look like a real problem," Kingsley frowned. "If they won't let you, a curse breaker that they have probably come to trust as much as they can trust a wizard, near the vault, I can't see them letting anyone else there."

"That's true," Bill grimaced.

"I thought we were going to try to get Kingsley to make Fudge declare some kind of new law to let us in the bank?" Sirius said.

"I think that was a naive plan on our part," Remus frowned. "Even if Kingsley were able to convince Fudge of doing something like that, I doubt he would be strong enough to go against the goblins to force them to listen. Besides, it would be nice to keep the peace with the goblins if we can help it."

"So then breaking in is out too," Sirius said with a frown. "I think that's my least favorite part of all of this... the fact that no one gets to break into a high security vault and ride away on a dragon."

"Get over it already," Tonks rolled her eyes. "And Bill, I was wondering something about who has control of the Lestrange's vault now that they are in Azkaban?"

"They still have control of the vault," Bill answered with an intrigued look. He brought his hand up to his chin as he looked thoughtful about something.

"Is there something more to that?" Remus asked, looking almost hopeful.

"Well, it depends on how the vault is set up," Bill answered slowly. "There is a chance that they have allowed access to the vault to their closest relative..."

"Wouldn't that be my mum?" Tonks asked.

"I doubt it. I'm sure Bellatrix would have disowned her a long time ago," Bill replied. "But Narcissa might be allowed."

"Well that's a lot of help," Sirius rolled his eyes. "I know she ended up helping us at the end of the book, but I don't think she has that level of motivation yet."

"If we can get Draco to..." Tonks started to say.

"Something tells me the boy won't have the courage or the will do something as dangerous as helping us destroy a Horcrux," Sirius said. "Yeah, he realized that he didn't want to be a Death Eater, which I am very pleased about, but he still doesn't strike me as someone who's going to stand up against Voldemort."

"It's pointless to discuss this right now," Remus said before Tonks could try to argue. "We're not even sure if Narcissa or Draco can get into the Lestrange's vault in the first place. Still, I think it would be wise if you find that out Bill, so we know if it's an option or not."

"I will," Bill nodded his head and the meeting pretty much ended with that decision.

O

The next day, Mad-Eye Moody walked through the streets of Hogsmeade, heading for the Hog's Head. Once he got there he was greeted by Dumbledore, who had his normal amused smile, and McGonagall, who had a determined look in her eyes. After this greeting, they all Apparated to a signpost a little outside of Little Hangleton. Dumbledore took the lead, for he had seen the way in a memory and knew where the house was.

As soon as the house was in sight, they all slowed down considerably, sensing the magic that seemed to be humming off of the place.

"We should proceed with caution from here," Dumbledore warned, somewhat uselessly, but he wanted to make sure the others understood the danger they were in. Still in the lead, he walked slowly towards the house. His route to the house was anything but straight; he seemed to zigzag in a peculiar manner sometimes even heading in the opposite direction he wanted to go. The others didn't question him about this though, they could sense the dark magic that seemed to surround this area (though not as acutely as he could) and knew that this was the only path they could take to get to the house.

Finally they reached the door, however, once there, they didn't go in right away.

"What is it, Dumbledore?" McGonagall questioned after several minutes of silence and noticing his scowl deepening.

"Voldemort has placed a barrier on this door," Dumbledore answered. "I'm trying to figure out what it is, but so far it has alluded me... I think I'll need some time to figure this out."

McGonagall nodded her head as she and Moody watched as Dumbledore stared at the door. He stuck his hand out at some point, his fingers inches away from the door, muttering things to himself, but still he hadn't come up with anything. It was an hour later when Dumbledore finally realized how to open the door, which was to perform a curse using the darkest of magic. Though he easily could have performed the curse himself, he didn't like using dark magic with the Elder wand, so he allowed Moody to curse the door, knowing that he had come across the worst spells imaginable in his line of duty.

Once inside the house they were surprised by how normal everything looked, though it was really dusty. There didn't seem to be the overwhelming sense of magic filling the air that they had sensed outside. Dumbledore found the lack of magic more unnerving than if it was there. He wasn't sure what was meant by this and looked around the room cautiously.

"I think I see where the ring is," Moody said, his magical eye focused on the floorboards near the very dusty looking table. They all moved carefully toward the place where Moody was pointing. As Dumbledore got closer to the spot, he could feel the faint traces of magic that seemed to be lacking in the house before. Voldemort had obviously tried to be subtle about where he was placing his ring, but as soon as Dumbledore touched the actual floorboard it was all over.

"Albus, don't you think you should let one of us continue on from here?" McGonagall said; they were getting to the point that the ring would be visible to them and she didn't want him to be tempted too much by it.

"Not yet," Dumbledore said, a frown now growing as he kept his hand on the floorboard. "Voldemort has done well to try to hide how powerful his protection is..."

McGonagall raised an eyebrow at this, but knew that Dumbledore wasn't going to explain more. He was muttering things towards the floor under his breath. It took another really long time and Dumbledore was starting to show signs of strain by the time he was ready to lift the floorboard.

"Do not do anything to help me," Dumbledore warned them, "no matter how dark things may become. You are, of course, allowed to protect yourselves from anything that might come."

Something sinister seemed to fill the room as soon as he said this, but Dumbledore had his wand out, casting a bright light. However, the light seemed to darken almost immediately as a tension filled the air like nothing that came before. Dumbledore didn't budge though, he just stood there with his wand directed at the light, trying to make it stronger as the darkness seemed to be absorbing it.

There was a quiver that seemed to make the whole house shake as a thick darkness flew towards the light. As soon as they touched, a wave of pure energy burst, knocking both McGonagall and Moody to the floor, though Dumbledore was just barely able to remain standing. Things didn't get any easier after the initial shock, for this last bit of darkness didn't seem to want to be absorbed. Energy blades as sharp as steel flew in all different directions, cutting anything in it's path. Luckily the others were able to put up shielding charms before they were hit by them, though Dumbledore wasn't able to. He got several deep cuts, but eventually things died down and the darkness was gone.

It was oddly silent in the room as Dumbledore stood still, keeping his wand pointed at the light even though the darkness had gone. The others were motionless, knowing that he would tell them when it was okay to do anything. They had to stand there, not saying anything for another twenty minutes, as the light slow grew smaller until it finally disappeared.

"That was rather more difficult that I thought it would be," Dumbledore finally broke the silence.

"Was that the last protection?" McGonagall asked.

"We'll see about that. But I would think that was the last protection that I was expecting." Dumbledore looked thoughtful and slightly embarrassed, knowing that if not for the book, he would have allowed this thing to defeat him.

"Then it looks like it's my turn," Moody said pulling out the sword of Gryffindor. They believed it was the best way of destroying the Horcruxes. He then walked towards the floorboard and noticed a small box that was hidden in it's depths. Moody levitated the box until it was resting on the table and then he opened the lid. He felt it immediately as he looked at the ring inside of it. It was such an ordinary ring, and yet there was something beautiful about it... something so desirable. He wanted to reach inside and pull it out, despite his knowledge that it would kill him... that seemed an insignificant matter at the moment.

"Dumbledore?" McGonagall said, noticing that he was looking at the ring longingly, despite the fact that he was standing on the other side of the room. She looked at Moody then, worried that he might be affected by this too, which she found that he was. "Alastor!"

Moody heard the warning as if it was something from a distant dream... it didn't really matter. But there was now a buzzing in his ear... so annoying. It was making it harder for him to appreciate the beauty of the ring. "Silenco," he said in hopes that it would make the noise stop, and was happy when it did. He reached his hand towards the ring; it was going to be his!

"Argh," his fingers were inches away before his hand was hit by a stinging hex. He whirled around to see who had cursed him, raising his wand at McGonagall, who despite being silenced, was still able to curse him.

Her wand was raised as well, prepared for whatever Moody was going to throw at her as she tried to think of a way to get to the ring…preferably without being enchanted by it as well. Before she could even make a move, Dumbledore disarmed both Moody and herself. She had a second of relief that Moody was disarmed before she realized that Dumbledore was looking at the ring as if it were some kind of treasure that he needed to possess. Knowing there wasn't anymore time to think, she ran across the room, grabbed the sword of Gryffindor out of Moody's hand, and turned to the box with the ring still in it.

A desire that was so powerful it seemed like physical pain came over her at the sight of the ring, but she couldn't stop the movement of her arms and the sword cracked through the stone. There was a cry as if something was dying, as the stone shook.

McGonagall flew to the floor at that as a great sense of regret overcame her. The regret faded quickly as the Horcrux was destroyed and she began to regain some of her reason. She realized then just how strong the complying curse had to have been on the ring. She looked at her companions, both of which were looking grave. Dumbledore however looked the worst of the bunch.

He was looking at the floor, embarrassment covering his face. As soon as Moody opened the box he was under the power of the ring. He had even heard whispers telling him that should take it, that his greatest desire was at hand and if he didn't act quickly, he would forever miss his chance to redeem himself in the eyes of his family. The voice was soft and enchanting at first and he found himself actually moving towards it without having conscious thought of doing so.

If it wasn't for the look that Minerva gave him, he probably would have let nothing stop him from using the stone to see his family. But she did look at him, called him out of his trance long enough to realize what was going on. Even after that though, he let himself be conquered by his weakness again. He had disarmed his friends in hopes of claiming the stone for himself. Darkness seemed to almost cloud his mind as he thought of cursing Minerva as she went to destroy the ring. He was sure if he had been anyone but her, his long time colleague and close friend, he wouldn't have been able to stop himself. As it was, he could feel the curse coming to his lips as the stone cracked... releasing him from his madness.

"It seems there was indeed a powerful complying charm on this thing," Moody broke the silence, looking back to his grumpy and cautious self.

"Indeed," Dumbledore said, trying to do the same as his friend. He was ashamed that he had proven to be the weakest when it came to this Horcrux. It had affected him more than the others, even though he was standing the furthest away. Still, they had all survived and no one was poisoned.

"What should we do with this thing?" Moody questioned. "Destroy it?"

"No," Dumbledore answered immediately, a little more longing in his voice than he would have liked.

"Albus, I think..." McGonagall started, but when he raised his arm she stopped.

"If the stone can still work it might be useful to us," Dumbledore said. "Though things can not unfold the same way they did in the book... too many things have changed already, it might still be useful for Harry to have this."

"Very well, would you like me to take it?" McGonagall asked.

"That is all right," Dumbledore answered, a shimmer of his normal amusement back in his eyes. "I need to first make sure there isn't some kind of lingering curse on it and then I know what I can do with it to make sure that it is not used.

"That being said, it seems like we have accomplished all that we have set out to do today," he said in an almost cheerful tone.

"If you're saying we can leave this dump, I'm all for that," Moody smiled and that's what they did.


	4. Back to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Four

Back to Hogwarts

"Argh!" Harry shouted in frustration. His head was pounding and he knew that he hadn't closed his mind fast enough. Remus didn't say anything, but he knew that he wasn't doing as well as he was expected.

"That was better," Remus said, and it was, but Harry still seemed to be struggling to master Occlumency and this was the last night they had to work on this. It didn't help that he got to see first hand all the terrible memories that Harry had. He especially hated when he saw Harry, looking no more than six, being told that he had to stay in the cupboard for a month because of the vase that he had broken. He could still see Harry's pained and terrified expression.

"I'm sorry I'm not doing better," Harry sighed, causing Remus to look up, realizing that his emotion must have been showing.

"Harry, this is a difficult skill to master," Remus said truthfully. "In fact, it took me almost a year."

"I bet you didn't have this much pressure to master it quickly," Harry pointed out.

"No... I was able to take my time," Remus admitted.

"I'm never going to learn this," Harry said, frustrated again.

"You can't let yourself think that," Remus said calmly. "If you don't believe you can do this, you won't..."

"Are you trying to be annoying," Harry groaned causing Remus to chuckle.

"Of course not," Remus said. "But now you should work on clearing your mind."

Harry took a deep breath, and concentrated on everything that Remus had told him over the last week. He let go of his frustration... his worry about what was going to happen in the future... his fear of having to face Voldemort at some point... even his fear that his thoughts might somehow help Voldemort. It wasn't easy, letting any of this go, and he knew he hadn't mastered this technique yet, but he was trying.

Like always, Remus caught Harry by surprise, testing his defenses. He could feel it the moment that Remus tried to get in his head, this time the older man was going for the subtle method and Harry was able to concentrate on his shield... trying not to let his panic overwhelm him. That would have been a sure way to fail. It seemed to be working. He could feel Remus withdrawing and as soon as that happened he returned to concentrating on keeping his mind blank.

The next attack was brutal, strong and overwhelming. He saw some of the bitterest memories of his early years at Hogwarts... Hermione petrified, Ron's pale face when they were facing the giant spiders... but he pushed back, closed those thoughts off with difficulty. At the same time, he was wary about where Remus was going to attack next. He had a reason to be worried. He had no control whatsoever and his mind was an open book for a full minute before he could do anything about it.

After pushing Remus out of his mind for the last time he looked at the werewolf and Remus nodded.

"I think that's enough for today," Remus said.

"Right," Harry said taking a deep breath.

"Just keep practicing this," Remus said reassuringly. "I have faith that you can master it."

"But no pressure," Harry sighed.

"I was under the impression you didn't really know what the word pressure meant," Remus smiled.

"Just the opposite... I know the meaning of that far too well," Harry smiled back.

O

The next day Harry woke up with his scar pricking again, and he had the same old dream of walking through a hallway. He sighed as he pushed the blankets off. He didn't really have time to dwell on this today, they had to get ready to go back to Hogwarts. Still, he hated that he couldn't stop himself from dreaming what Voldemort was.

The normal rush to get ready for Hogwarts was at full steam by the time he got downstairs to eat. He was glad that he had packed the night before and didn't have to run all over the place like some of the others. Hermione, of course, seemed to have been prepared as well; she was sitting next to him, peacefully sipping coffee and reading the _Daily Prophet. _

"So how did your lessons go?" Harry asked her, suddenly realizing that he hadn't talked to her about this since their first lesson in Occlumency (and for her Legilimency).

"Pretty good, I think. I've learned the finer points of Legilimency, though I'm not an expert at it yet," Hermione said. "Do you want to see?"

Harry shook his head, "It's probably best not to do that now, but maybe after we get to Hogwarts."

"How do you think you're doing, Harry?" Hermione asked seriously.

"I know that he's still getting at me when I'm sleeping," Harry admitted to her with a sigh. "I can't seem to keep him out..."

"You've only been working on this for a few weeks..." Hermione started to say.

"I know... and I think I've been making progress... but I just get this feeling that it's never going to be enough," Harry sighed.

"Honestly Harry, it might not be," Hermione sighed. "The connection between you and Voldemort is different than anything that has happened before. There might not be a way to fully block this... Voldemort didn't seem to be able to in the book at least, and I'm sure he's accomplished at Occlumency."

"Gee, that makes me feel so much better," Harry groaned.

"Sorry... I've just been worrying about that for awhile now," Hermione sighed. "However, that doesn't mean I don't think that you should stop trying..."

"Don't worry Hermione, when have you known me to stop trying?" Harry smiled at her.

"On your homework..."

"On things that matter," Harry added and Hermione shook her head at him.

"Git."

"Oi, you two that's enough chatting, it's time to go," Ron said coming into the kitchen to get his friends.

When Harry got to the door he saw Sirius standing there talking to Remus and he felt a sudden chill go through him. He knew that the book had warned of Sirius's death, but it didn't say how or when he was going to die. He was suddenly filled with the fear that he would never see his godfather again. That, whatever had happened was going to happen soon, and he wasn't going to be able to stop it.

"There you are Harry," Sirius smiled at him, but immediately seemed to noticed the panic the boy was going through. He walked over to his godson and hugged him, before pulling him aside so no one else could see Harry's expression. "What's the matter?"

"I'm just... I'm afraid..." Harry started and then forced himself to finish the best he could, "what if I never see you again?"

Sirius sighed before he put his hands on Harry's shoulders and said in a calm voice, "I can't promise you that we will see each other again... not with the way things are in our world today, but I can promise you that I'm not going to waste this second chance we have. I want to see the incredible man that I know you will become."

Harry didn't know how to answer that and found it funny that he felt better after Sirius said this.

"Besides, kid, I'm about to give you a way to let you talk to me while you're at school," Sirius added with a grin, handing Harry a package. "It's the two way mirror that James and I used to use when we were in separate detentions. We can use it to talk to each other whenever you like."

"I like the sound of that," Harry smiled at him, gave him one last hug and then was out the door so that he could catch the Knight Bus to Hogwarts.

O

It was later that night and Hermione was testing her skills at Legilimency against Harry's skills at Occlumency and so far Harry had the upper hand. Not wanting to be out done, she pressed herself hard and finally broke through Harry's defenses. She caught a glimpse of Harry and Cho together at the last DA meeting before Harry forced her out of his head.

"Are you satisfied now, or do we have to keep doing this?" Harry grumbled. He didn't like that she had seen that and he was starting to get tired of these constant attacks.

"No, we're done for the day," Hermione said frowning, trying to keep herself from saying anything about the image she saw. Judging by Harry's grimace, she wasn't doing a very good job of hiding her emotions.

"What is it?" Harry sighed.

"No... it's nothing," Hermione shook her head, she had promised herself that she wasn't going to bring this up, that she was going to let Harry come to her.

"I might not be an accomplished _Legilimens,_but I know when something is bothering you," Harry said. "Just tell me what it is."

"Fine, but you're not going to like it," Hermione sighed. She was glad that Ron had decided to sit with Neville and Ginny while they practiced. It would be easier to talk to Harry about this without him nearby. "It's about Cho... and Ginny..."

Harry sighed, and crossed his arms, but he knew this was coming. "What about them?"

"Well, that's sort of what I wanted to know," Hermione said uncomfortably. "Never mind... you don't have to say anything. Just know that I'll be here if you need any help."

Harry's postured relaxed as he let out a breath. "I thought for sure you were going to call me an idiot... you know for not trying to start things up with Ginny..."

"You are an idiot," Hermione stated and he glared at her. "But you wouldn't be Harry if you weren't."

"Thanks, Mione, that makes me feel so much better," Harry shook his head, and then he sighed, "Ginny told you what I said to her, didn't she?"

"For the most part, yeah," Hermione answered.

"You're lucky, you know that," Harry said. "You didn't need a book to tell you who you're supposed to be with..."

"Harry?" Hermione frowned, not sure what he was getting at.

"You and Ron... you already liked each other before, right?" Harry said and he didn't need an answer to that but Hermione still nodded her head. "I feel like I was blindsided the moment that it was mentioned that Ginny was my girlfriend... I can't get her out of my head..."

"And that's a bad thing?" Hermione questioned and he just looked at her sadly.

"If I asked her out now, I don't know if I'd be doing it because I actually have feeling for her or because I was told I would have feeling for her," Harry said miserably.

"That is hard," Hermione sighed, leaning her head against Harry's shoulder.

"I was hoping for a bit of advice about this actually," Harry mumbled.

"The only advice I can give you is don't over think this, Harry," Hermione answered.

"Hermione Granger telling someone not to think!" Harry said in a mock astounded tone.

"Shut up!" Hermione rolled her eyes at him. "I just meant that you should stop letting your head get in the way and listen to what your heart is saying."

"Yeah..." Harry said, but this wasn't much help right now, everything about this situation was confusing to him.

"What are you going to do about Cho?" Hermione suddenly asked. If she had it her way, Cho would never be in the picture again. It's not that she didn't like the other girl, it was just that she had always thought that Harry and Ginny made the perfect couple and after reading the book she knew she was right.

"I'm not sure about that yet either," Harry grimaced. "But I have to see my feelings through, don't I?"

"I suppose," Hermione sighed.

"You don't have to sound so depressed about that," Harry grumbled, but he still leaned his head on top of hers, taking comfort by the fact that she was their to support him. "If something is meant to be, I'm sure it will work itself out in the end."

O

"Don't those two look cute?" Parvati said to Lavender. They were sitting across the room watching as Harry and Hermione talked. Now that the other two were sitting so close together, they couldn't help but giggle.

"Harry and Hermione certainly seem to make a good couple, it's about time this happened," Lavender nodded her head, still giggling.

"What?" Ron suddenly said and when they looked at him they were surprised that he was glaring at them. "What did you just say?"

"Harry and Hermione," Parvati said, nodding her head towards the two on the couch, "aren't they cute together."

"No!" Ron and Ginny both said in similar tones, but Ron recovered from his shock first. He knew, after all, how much Hermione liked him. He also knew how Harry and Hermione felt about each other, and that he had nothing to worry about. Still, he didn't like how everyone else that was now looking at Harry and Hermione seemed to think they made a good couple.

"They're not together, Parvati," Ginny said, sounding just as annoyed as Ron felt. "They're just friends."

"If you say so," Lavender said in a tone that stated that she didn't believe the other girl one bit.

"Yeah, I say so. Harry and Hermione are just friends," Ron said hotly, he was starting to get really annoyed with all of this.

"Why, because they didn't tell you? They probably..." Lavender started to say.

"NO! Because Hermione is my girlfriend!" Ron snapped at her and everyone that was in the area around them all looked at Ron in shock. Ron's ears turned red as he caught the disbelieving stares of several people.

"You can't be serious!" Seamus said. "You and Hermione? You mean she actually likes _you_?"

Ron just ignored him, which wasn't difficult as he wasn't too fond of Seamus at the moment anyway, and got up to walk towards his friends.

"I think he is serious," Dean said with a chuckle.

"It's about time this happened," Neville chuckled, too.

"Hey!" Ron said, his tone still hot because of everything that everyone was saying. His two friends were startled, jumping apart.

"Hey, Ron," Hermione answered beaming at him until she noticed his expression.

Ron had gone over, intending to make some big gesture to prove that Hermione was his girlfriend, but when he looked at her he found it wasn't important anymore. Of course he still cared what everyone was saying about him, but he knew that Hermione wouldn't have appreciated the gesture and what she thought was more important to him.

"What's the matter, Ron?" Hermione asked as he sat on the couch next to her.

"Everyone thinks you and Harry make a cute couple," Ron answered honestly, his annoyance clear in his tone.

"Oh," Harry said, looking across the room and noticing that everyone was very obviously attempting to make it look as if they hadn't been watching the trio. "Sorry mate."

"It's okay," Ron shrugged, not having anything else he could have said. "Though it did kind of hatch me off to hear that."

"Don't tell me you're jealous, Ron," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"I'm not jealous," Ron glared at her. "I just don't like how everyone thinks you and Harry would be bloody perfect together but when I tell them that you're my girlfriend they think..."

"You told them that!" Hermione gasped.

"Er..." Ron said his ears turning red, "was I not supposed..."

"It's okay... I'm just not looking forward to getting cornered by Lavender and Parvati tonight before bed…" Hermione sighed and then smiled at him. "We might as well give them something to really talk about."

"What...?" Ron started to ask but before he could say more she kissed him. Everything seemed to have melted away as soon as her lips touched his and all that mattered was her. They kissed until they couldn't breathe anymore and were finally forced to part. They didn't seem to notice that Harry seemed to have disappeared wordlessly sometime during this kiss.

"I'm surprised at you, Hermione," Ron said resting his forehead against hers, "I didn't think you would be up for a snog in the middle of the common room... at least not when it's this crowded. And as a prefect too... what will the first years think?"

"I noticed all of the first and second years have gone to bed already," Hermione shrugged and gave him a mischievous smile that made his heart hammer against his chest. "But if you don't think it's proper..."

She didn't get to finish her statement because Ron had pulled her into another kiss which she happily returned. As she entangled her fingers in his hair, she found that she didn't care in the slightest that they were in the middle of a crowded common room and that everyone was probably looking at them.


	5. Classes and DA

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Five

Classes and DA

Harry had almost forgotten how bad it had gotten at Hogwarts this year. However, as soon as he got to breakfast the next morning, and was faced with having to see Umbridge again, it quickly came back to him. This really wasn't the sight you wanted to see right before you ate and it didn't help that he knew what she would do in Voldemort's Ministry if she only had the chance. It also didn't help that today was Monday meaning he'd have to suffer through a '_lesson_' with her.

After eating a breakfast of eggs and toast, he got up and headed towards History of Magic. Part of him wished that he didn't have to worry about classes as well as everything else that was going on. Then again, he had been dealing with situations like this since he was eleven. This felt different though; he knew so much about what was going on... he wasn't sure when the last time was that he felt like that... but this time he had to let other people do what felt like everything. That was the most annoying part about coming back to school, that he wasn't able to do anything in regards to helping. Well, besides his lessons in Occlumency, which he still needed a lot of work at. He knew that he couldn't do everything, but he had hoped that he could be more involved than he was.

"Harry!" Hermione said, shaking his shoulder.

"Huh?" he said frowning at her.

"Class is over," she replied in an exasperated tone, "and I know you didn't pay attention to anything that was said."

"What else is new?" Ron chuckled as they all got up. "We never listen to Binns."

"Well, I certainly hope you pay more attention in Potions," Hermione said. "I doubt that Snape is going to let you get away with day dreaming."

"No … I don't think he will," Harry was frowning again. He was almost afraid of what he was going to find when he encountered Snape again. Thanks to the book, he had come to respect his Professor … respect him very much actually. He also knew that Snape had come to see him as his own person too, not the son of his worst enemy … not the son of his best friend … just as Harry. That being said, he knew that Snape couldn't start liking him, that would be a death sentence for Snape and bad for their side as a whole. What was going to happen next, Harry wasn't sure, but he knew it wasn't going to be pretty.

Harry sat in his normal seat next to Ron and Hermione and he waited for Snape to enter. When Draco walked into the room, Harry nearly hit himself in the head because he forgot about his school rival. Yet another person he didn't really know how he was supposed to react to anymore. He didn't even know what the hell Draco was thinking and was wary of him more than his Professor. Snape was, after all, a master at controlling his emotions and Harry was use to being treated like crap in his classes.

Draco just glared at him, a glare that was very normal to see on the other boy's face and it made everything easier. They might have learned that they weren't really enemies, but that didn't make them friends. With a slight feeling of relief, he returned the glare.

Then Snape came into the room in his normal over-dramatic style. He spoke curtly, gave Neville and Harry snide remarks about their ability to make potions, and hovered over Harry's shoulder for most of the class. It was similar to the way Snape had always acted before, but he could sense Snape was uncomfortable, not his normal bitter self.

"What is this Potter?" Snape asked at the end of class when Harry presented him the potion he had been working on. "This couldn't possibly be your potion!"

"Yes, this is my potion," Harry replied, trying not to react to Snape tone of cold disapproval. It was odd how three days could make this tone so much harder to bear.

"It looks like another zero to me," Snape sneered. Draco and his friends laughed and everything was exactly how it has always been in Potions.

Harry didn't say anything as he turned back to his friends and walked away. He was overjoyed when the bell rang shortly after so he could leave the room as quickly as possible.

"Well, nothing really changed in that class," Ron frowned as they sat down at the Gryffindor table for lunch. "Not like I expected it to, but still…Snape is still a git."

"Harry?" Hermione said frowning as she looked at him closely, making him uncomfortable. "Is something wrong?"

"Not really," Harry said, and she raised an eyebrow at him. "Ron's right, nothing really changed …"

"But …" she prompted and he was starting to hate that she knew him so well.

"I'm not the same," Harry shrugged and looked at her to make it clear that he didn't want to say more. She either got the hint, or knew what he was trying to say. The truth was, he knew that Potions was going to be harder on him because he actually cared what Snape had to say now.

"It's an act," Hermione said simply before she turned back to her food, trying to give him space.

Harry smiled at her. Though he wasn't sure if what she said was true or not, he couldn't help but feel better. After lunch, he and Ron went up the tower to Divination and he wasn't surprised that Umbridge was there, her beady eyes piercing into him. He could feel her pleasures in having the kind of power over him … over everyone. He sat down at a table next to Ron and opened his book, not looking at Umbridge again so he wouldn't have to fight the urge to curse her. The down side to this plan … he actually had to study Divination.

He was glad when the class was over, he liked to spend his time in Defense Against the Dark Arts planning his next D.A. lesson. Hmm … he really did need to get on that. He had told the others that he was going to see if he could teach them the Patronus charm, but he knew they weren't ready for that yet. There were a few things that he had to get to first. Then there was also the dueling tournament that Sirius had suggested he do. It was a way to get everyone to start thinking quickly on their feet and have fun doing it. He thought that he would spend the last fifteen minutes of each lesson with a duel and the winner would go on. He smiled as he thought of that, and decided to have Hermione make a chart to make everything run smoothly. He was surprised when the class was over; it seemed like had only been planning for a few minutes. Well, that certainly was the best way to get through one of Umbridge's lessons.

O

It was a few days later and things at Hogwarts were still bleak. However, today was the first D.A. meeting since before Christmas break, and he was excited about it. Hermione was holding a small pad of paper that would grow to show the chart that she had made for the tournament. She seemed to be quite excited about this as was Ron.

"Hello Harry," Luna said as she entered the Room of Requirement. Harry smiled at her.

"Hey Luna, how was your holiday?" he asked.

"It was very nice, thanks. There was a sighting of the Crumpled-Horned Snorkack in Sweden," Luna smiled. "Daddy was saying that we might go there, but I'm not sure if we can afford it."

"Er … well, good luck with that," Harry said, trying to keep the smile on his face.

"You know, if you need any help with that, you could always help us sell some products to the Ravenclaws," Fred suggested as he and George came into the room halfway through their conversation. "You could always use them on a few unsuspecting people to show how well our products work."

"I'm not sure anyone would buy anything from me … they think I'm loony you know," Luna said matter of factly.

"That's only because they haven't bothered to get to know you," Fred assured her. Luna smiled at him, but she looked a little confused too, not sure what had changed in the last few weeks that had them talking to her like this. She shrugged, whatever it was it seemed to be a good thing.

"Harry … it's time to start," Hermione pointed out before Harry could say any more. He quickly got everyone together, trying to get through the lesson on time today so they would have time to start the tournament. He was pleased that everyone seemed to pick up the curse (which was a nifty thing that Remus had told him about) pretty well.

"Okay everyone, gather around," Harry said.

"It can't be time already," Lee said, looking disappointed.

"No, but I have something planned that you might all like," Harry smiled. "We've been practicing curses for the last three and a half months and I think we're ready to do something that will show how much you've learned."

"Hmph? Will this involve Umbridge in someway?" Fred asked with an evil smirk.

"Unfortunately not," Harry sighed, "but that doesn't mean that I'll stop you from doing what you want to her on your own."

"That's good to know," George said chuckling, "but what do you have planned for us, Harry?"

"We're going to have a dueling tournament," Harry announced and everything went silent for three seconds before everyone started talking excitedly to one another. It was so bad that he had to blow his whistle to make people listen to him again. He looked at Hermione then, knowing that she would be better at handling this part of it and she really seemed to be in her element.

"Here is the chart of who your first opponent will be," Hermione said, pinning it up next to the D.A. member list that everyone had signed at their first meeting. "I thought it would be best to just set everyone up in alphabetical order since we don't know how everyone duels yet. We are hoping to get through half of the first round today. The duel will only last for five minutes or until someone is unable to continue dueling. The first pairings are going to be:

"Hannah vs. Katie, Susan vs. Terry, Lavender vs. Cho, Michael vs. Colin, Dennis vs. Marietta, Justin vs. Anthony … er … Hermione vs. Angelina, Lee vs. Neville, Luna vs. Ernie, Padma vs. Parvati, Harry vs. Zacharias, Alicia vs. Dean, Fred vs. George and Ginny vs. Ron."

"You mean I have to face George first!" Fred groaned. "I was hoping that we would meet in the finals."

"Sorry … I might be able to set up better pairs the next time … but for right now this is how it's going to be," Hermione shrugged.

"Don't mind him, Mione," George said wrapping his arm around Fred's shoulder, "He's just mad because he knows he's going to lose."

"In you're dreams Georgie … in your dreams," Fred glared at him.

"Anyway," Hermione said, talking a step away from the twins and speaking to the group again. "The first four fights are going take place at the same time. So those that I have mentioned first please get up and divide into the proper pairs and go over to either Harry, Ron, myself or … er … Ginny."

"Yeah, I get to be a judge," Ginny smiled and then went up to stand next to the others.

"You pick the second youngest person to be the judge," Fred said shaking his head.

"Well, I might have picked you, but honestly I don't trust that you would call a fair fight," Hermione shrugged. "Besides it doesn't matter that much about who's watching the fight, we just need to make sure that nothing too dangerous happens."

"And on that happy note, let's get the tournament started!" Harry chuckled. "We are hoping to get to the next group after this after all."

Hannah and Katie walked over to Harry, both of them looking at each other, obviously trying to size each other up (as were all the other people who were about to duel). Harry was a little disappointed that he couldn't watch all the duels but he settled into watching this one. The matching was interesting. Hannah was rather good at picking up new spells, though she wasn't as quick on her feet as Katie was.

As he expected, it was a good match. Katie got the better of Hannah after she dodged a curse by doing this sort of roll thingy and came up firing a curse back at Hannah. He thought he heard Angelina making a comment about how Katie should use that skill on the Quidditch pitch, too. Harry, glanced over to his right where Hermione was watching Susan and Terry. Terry seemed to have the upper hand, but then Susan used a special move that Harry had showed them a few weeks before the Christmas holidays. He smiled proudly as Hermione declared her the winner. Knowing that he had helped her learn that made him happy.

He didn't have time to see either of the other two fights, but he knew that Cho and Lavender's fight went the full five minutes with Cho being declared the winner. Michael had defeated Colin in least than a minute in their match.

He called everyone for the next round where he let Fred and George judge (along with Ron and Ginny) so he could watch all of the fighting. Fred had offered to judge Hermione and Angelina's fight, which seemed to be the one that everyone wanted to see. Harry was also interested in seeing how Lee and Neville's fight was going to end. He was hoping that Neville would start showing some of the confidence that he had seen in the book. He stood in between the two fights, cheering on his friends.

It seemed to him that Hermione was in trouble as soon as the fighting started. Angelina came on really strong, obviously wary of her opponent. He was starting to feel nervous for his friend when he realized that Hermione, though not exactly winning, wasn't exactly losing either. She was obviously feeling out her opponent and waiting for an opening. It was a beautiful strategy really. She put up a shield that deflected the curse that Angelina sent at her straight back and as Angelina moved to dodge it Hermione stunned her.

Harry was quite happy about his friend winning as he looked over to the fight between Neville and Lee. He was pleased to see that Neville was still fighting, but it was clear who the winner was.

"That was a good match, Neville," Lee said holding out his hand and helping him up. "You almost had me there for a minute."

"I don't know about that, but I'm glad that I lasted the whole match," Neville smiled.

It turned out that Marietta beat Dennis (though she didn't seem as excited as the rest, her opponent was the youngest person there and he just didn't have enough training to make it much of a challenge) and Anthony defeated Justin. Neither one of those fights lasted that long.

"Well, I think that all went pretty well," Harry said to the room at large. "The next time, the rest of us will get the chance to duel."

"Well. that just sucks," Zacharias said. "Why can't we just duel now?"

"Because our time has run out," Harry said, trying not to lose patience with this question. "I still think it's important that we learn something new each lesson, but dueling is a useful tool. I'm sorry that we don't have time for everyone today."

"We're okay with waiting," Ron said, though he looked like he wanted to duel too.

Soon everyone was leaving, talking about both the duels that they just had and the ones they thought they were going to be having in the future. Ron happily listened to all the details about Hermione's duel, wishing that he had been able to see it for himself. Harry however, was just smiling about the success of this D.A. lesson and looking forward to the next one.

"Harry?" someone said before he could leave the room and he turned to see Cho. "Er … could I have a word with you?"

"Sure," Harry said and Hermione grabbed Ron's arm and dragged him out of the room. Harry noticed that Ron wasn't pleased with him talking with this girl and the truth was he wasn't sure what he was feeling either. He couldn't deny that his stomach flipped when he saw Cho today, but he felt guilty about it. That, of course, might have something to do with the fact that he saw Ginny grimacing at him.

"Well … er … I just wanted to say … um … that was a good lesson," Cho said nervously.

"Yeah … congratulations on winning your duel," Harry said awkwardly.

"Thanks," Cho replied, smiling proudly. "I wasn't sure if I would be any use in a duel, but you're a very good teacher."

Harry blushed at that, but couldn't help the smile that stretched across his face.

"Did you hear that the next Hogsmeade visit is on Valentines Day?" Cho said.

"Er … yeah," Harry answered and he felt his hands begin to sweat as he wondered what he should do. It felt wrong to be here talking to Cho, but at the same time he was a free man, he had the right to talk to anyone. Besides, he liked Cho … didn't he owe it to himself to see where this was going?

"Well … I better be going," Cho said turning away from Harry and he could see that she was hurt by his hesitation.

"Cho, wait, would you like to go to Hogsmeade with me," Harry asked quickly and she smiled at him nodding her head. As she walked away he was wondering if he had just done the right thing or not.

O

Harry was feeling pretty good about his D.A. lesson, seeing as all of the duelers seemed to have used at least some of the things that he had taught them. He was trying to keep his mind mostly on this, but he couldn't help but think about the date that he had with Cho in about a month's time. He didn't know that it was possible to feel so much about a date but he was. He was guilty, unsure, uneasy, and he had an overwhelming feeling that he was doing the wrong thing. After all, he knew who he was supposed to end up with, and it wasn't Cho. He stifled that thought as soon as he thought of it. He refused to let this knowledge dictate what he did.

Ron seemed to be a little upset, though he tried not to make any comments. He couldn't say that he really wanted Harry to be going out with his sister, but he was sure that would happen anyway, and he was a little annoyed with Harry for not just accepting that because he knew it was hard on Ginny. He tried his hardest not to bring this up though, not after Hermione told him that Harry just need time or whatever it was she said.

Ginny, on the other hand, had tried to continue her relationship with Michael at first. With Harry's less than thrilled reaction the idea of them actually going out, she thought it would be best not to appear to be just waiting for him to decide to date her. However, it didn't really work out so well. She couldn't get Harry out of her head. Every time she tried to think of Michael, she found that he was lacking. She had to end things with him not long after the first D.A. meeting and felt very uncomfortable in the next one, though it wasn't so bad because she was able to partner up with Luna. She had made an effort to get closer to Luna over the last two weeks and was actually happy about this change. At least with Luna, she knew that her opponent wasn't taking it easy on her like Michael always had (something she had always hated about him).

"Well, that was another good lesson," Harry beamed at everyone but no one seemed to be listening. They all seemed to be excited about the next round of fighting in their dueling tournament. "And now, for what you've all been waiting for…will the next fighters come up? We'll only have three groups going this time."

At this, Luna and Ernie got up to face each other as did the Patil twins, but the only match that anyone seemed to want to watch was the one between Zacharias Smith and Harry. Harry was feeling a little nervous … he definitely didn't want to lose any matches in this contest, but he would especially hate to lose to Smith … he was such an arse.

He bowed to his opponent, noticing Smith roll his eyes at the formality of the duel, and waited for Hannah (who had been decided to judge the fight because Smith had complained loudly about anyone else showing Harry favoritism) to count to three. Harry raised his wand as quickly as he could and shouted the disarming charm so fast that Smith barely had time to raise his own wand in defense. The other boy was wandless in the next second glaring at Harry.

"And that's why it's important to know the basics," Harry smiled at the other boy.

Smith glared at him worse than ever as Hannah declared Harry the winner seeing as Smith obviously couldn't duel anymore.

"Not to mention, I have found that Expelliarmus is one of the spells, in general, that is quickest to perform … particularly for me." Harry felt he should add because he didn't really want to rub in his victory over the other boy … after all he was supposed to be the teacher here (it's just that the comment that Smith made in their first meeting still annoyed him).

Smith still seemed angry, but Harry noticed the other people seemed to take his advice about using Expelliarmus.

Harry looked over to see that Parviti and Padma were still dueling, but Luna had defeated Ernie. The boy looking thoroughly disappointed about that … not to mention confused. Harry frowned at that too … he was pretty sure that Luna was going to make a tough opponent, if, for no other reason, than she was very unpredictable.

Parviti ended up winning her duel at the last minute by surprising her sister with a desperate move. Padma was angry at this, not only because she had lost at the last moment, but because it was obvious to everyone that she would have won the match if the time had run out.

"Sorry," Parviti said smugly as they shook hands after the match.

"Sure you are," Padma glared at her sister.

"I think everyone should take this as a reminder that you should never let your guard down," Harry said, trying to make sure nothing else happened. He wished he had just kept his mouth shut when Padma glared at him and the walked away. "Er … I guess we're ready for the next round then …"

Alicia and Dean stood up quickly at that, but all the Weasleys looked at their intended opponent with wary looks, especially Ron. He didn't want to lose to his little sister, but he knew that she was good at this kind of thing. He was going to have to make sure that he won.

"I'm sure the twins won't tease you too much after I beat you," Ginny informed him with a smirk.

Ron's ears turned red with that comment, but he didn't say anything. He couldn't let Ginny get in his head … he would never win as long as he was worried about the twins.

"You can do it, Ron," Hermione cheered for him and he smiled at her. He noticed that she didn't look nervous at all … she looked like she believed that he really could do this and he felt a lot better about his chances.

"Dueler's ready," Neville said to them, and the two youngest Weasley's bowed. "Three, two, one, go!"

Ron knew she would be fast, and she would lead off with a strong attack, but even with that knowledge, he was barely able to get his shield charm up in time. He sent a lazy, half-arse spell at her, trying to look like he was panicking. She didn't seemed to buy it as much as he would have hoped because she didn't go in for the kill as he expected her to. Instead, she dodged the spell and put up a powerful shield that blocked the next attack that came her way.

"If you really thought that would work, you don't know me very well," Ginny smirked at him, firing the bat-bogey curse that she was known for.

Ron was able to deflect most of the damage, but part of the spell still hit him and his nose became painfully stuffy.

"Stupefy!" Ron shouted in response. Ginny easily side-stepped the spell only to fall on the ground, her face full of surprise. "Petrificus Totalus!"

There was nothing that Ginny could do to dodge this one, and he smirked at his sister as the spell took effect, locking her in place. Of course it was then that he had wished he picked a different spell because Ginny's glare was scaring the crap out of him right now. He had a feeling he was going to have to be careful around her in the near future.

"That was pretty lucky that Ginny fell," Neville said.

"It wasn't luck," Hermione said shaking her head at her friend before going over to hug Ron. "That was brilliant!"

"You think?" Ron said, his ears bright red.

"Of course," Hermione said. "The first curse you sent at Ginny, you intentionally hit the floor with a slippery spell knowing that if the duel was going to last long that Ginny was likely to dodge …"

"Hey now, don't be giving away all my secrets," Ron interrupted.

"Er …" Hermione blushed, "Sorry … I just thought it was really brilliant of you …"

"And you're surprised by that?" Harry chuckled. "He's the master of chess after all … he always thinks five moves ahead. Nice match, Ron."

"Thanks mate," Ron chuckled and then dropped his voice. "But I like how you schooled Smith in your match better. He's still glaring at you now."

Harry just smiled at that as he looked over to the twins who were still dueling.

It was no surprise that Fred and George's match would be close. They had, for a lack of a better word, identical dueling styles. They sent spells at one another at first, mostly gag hexes like the ticking jinx and tap dancing curse. Those had been blocked or dodged.

It was Fred who made the first real move, he sent a powerful _Aguamenti_ at George that actually hit his brother and caused him to lose sight for a second or two. It was enough for Fred to make George's shoe laces tie themselves to one another (he couldn't seemed to be able to help himself from doing that) and case a stunning spell as well.

George blocked the curse, severed his laces, (it was lucky that he had been looking down when he was trying to get the water out of his eyes and had seen his laces moving) and quickly sent the stinging hex at Fred, who didn't have time to block it.

"Argh," Fred groaned in pain as his cheek started to swell immediately. Before his eyesight got impaired by his rapidly growing cheek, he cast a shield charm and then counted to three before he sent a stunning charm to his left. He smirked when he heard a groan. He turned and was able to see with his one good eye that George was down.

"How did you know he would be there?" Katie asked.

"That's easy … I just thought of what I would do if my opponent was cursed with a stinging charm …" Fred chuckled. "It's nice to know how much we think alike."

"Yeah, that stinging hex to the face must have been really nice," Angelina rolled her eyes. "Come here and I'll fix that."

"Thanks," Fred smiled as she uttered the counter-curse and Hermione did the same to George.

"Argh … I can't believe you got me," George groaned immediately.

"Tough luck, Georgie … better luck next time," Fred laughed. "I wonder who won the other fights …"

"Don't look at me," Ginny said waving her hand, (Hermione had revived her before George) "Ron duels like he plays chess …"

"Er …" Fred said looking at his brother shrewdly; Ron was supposed to be his next opponent.

"Is that fear I see in your eye?" George chuckled.

"As if," Fred rolled his eyes.

"Okay, it looks like everything has been decided," Hermione said, for the match between Alicia and Dean had finished before Ron and Ginny's, Alicia having been the winner. "The next round will start at the end of the next lesson. The matches are as follows:

Katie vs. Susan, Cho vs. Michael, Marietta vs. Anthony, Hermione vs. Lee, Luna vs. Parviti, Harry vs. Alica and Fred vs Ron."

"You all got that?" Harry said and everyone nodded. "Well then, see you next time."

"Hey Ron," Ginny said before her brother was able to leave. She almost had to laugh at the look he was giving her, like he was scared out of his mind that she was plotting his destruction. "Relax … geesh Ron, I'm not going to do anything …"

"Really?" Ron said suspiciously.

"I just wanted to congratulate you," Ginny smiled at him. "I hate losing … but you beat me fair and square. I do have to warn you though, if you ever make me fall on my arse again in the middle of a duel, I'll flay you alive!"

"Understood," Ron gulped at the clear threat in his sister's eyes before she hugged him.

"Come on … let's get out of here," Ginny said, and they left together.


	6. The Rest of the Dueling Tournament

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Six

The Rest of the Dueling Tournament

At the next meeting, Harry could tell that everyone was excited about seeing what would happen next in the tournament, and were having trouble grasping what he was teaching. He wasn't pleased about this side effect of the tournament, and warned everyone that if they were so distracted in the next lesson, they might skip that round.

"Wow, Harry … you're starting to sound like McGonagall," Fred teased and Harry turned red, but continued to resemble his head of house by glaring at him with a very thin mouth.

"But we are dueling today aren't we?" Susan asked, looking excited.

"Yes," Harry agreed. "so the first four pairs of duelers should come up to the front."

Katie and Susan faced off as Cho and Michael did the same. Marietta stood up, looking mildly interested as she looked over at her opponent, Anthony. Hermione stepped away from Harry's side and walked over to Lee, who was looking confident.

Harry really wanted to watch Hermione's match, but he thought it probably would be better if he watched Cho's, seeing as she was somewhat his girlfriend. That didn't really settle well in his stomach as he thought about it, but he still walked over to watch her match (though he had made sure that he was standing in a spot that would allow him to see both fights).

Cho started off by trying to distract Michael by conjuring what looked like birds and sending them at the boy. However, seeing as they just hovered over his head, Michael decided to ignore them as he cast a stunning charm at her. Cho blocked it, and sent her own stunning charm back at Michael, who had trouble putting up a shield because one of the birds Cho had made attacked his hand. However, Cho's spell missed Michael by inches, allowing Michael to strike once again. This time, when he aimed his stunning curse, he hit her.

Harry sighed as she lost and then turned to Lee and Hermione's fight. His friend seemed to have taken a more aggressive approach this time and had pinned Lee down so all he could do was send up shield charms. She hesitated for a second, and Lee's face lit up as he thought he would have his opportunity to win, but Hermione seemed to be waiting for that. The disarming charm hit him squarely in the chest before he knew what happened.

"Aw," Lee groaned, "and I thought I had you."

"I believe that was the point, mate," George chuckled. "That was very sneaky of you, Mione."

"Thanks," Hermione smiled and walked over to shake hands with Lee.

"Yeah … good match… Mione, is it?" Lee teased and Hermione blushed. She didn't really want everyone to call her that, but she wasn't sure if she could stop it from happening now.

Harry chuckled as he noticed that Marietta had won her fight, too, in another close match. Katie had also won, having used the technique Harry had demonstrated in his first match, and had disarmed Susan within seconds of the start of the duel.

"Well, it looks like it's time for our fight, little brother," Fred said, smirking at Ron.

"Yeah …" Ron replied nervously. He knew that Fred was good at dueling. He also knew that if he lost he wasn't likely to get teased too badly, whereas if he won … well he would finally have something on his brother.

"Go, Ron!" Ginny and George cheered.

"Traitor," Fred hissed at his twin, but George just laughed.

Harry walked over to Alicia at this point and Parviti did the same thing with Luna, who looked like she had just happened to have wandered onto the stage.

Harry was slightly nervous about facing Alicia. He could see that she seemed to be on guard and he knew this wasn't going to be as easy as the last fight. Instead of attacking as quickly as he could, he put up a shield, which was probably a good thing because her spell hit it second later. He had to dodge quickly as Alicia sent another curse at him from the side. She seemed to think that not giving him time to think was the best strategy and continued to fire curses rapidly at him. He had to admit that it wasn't a bad plan, seeing as he was being pinned down.

An interesting idea came to him as he dodged another curse and the mere idea seemed to be enough to help him achieve his task. He sent his Patronus at Alicia, shocking her. Even though Harry felt drained after this, he was still able to send ropes out of his wand, tying up his opponent.

"I wasn't expecting that," Alicia frowned after she had admitted defeat. "I thought people only used Patronuses against Dementors …"

"Yeah … well, I thought it might distract you," Harry shrugged, "especially seeing as it's not something that one would normally use in a duel."

Harry looked over to Ron and Fred's duel then, though he couldn't help but notice that everyone seemed to be looking at him in awe. He was pretty sure he was going to have to teach everyone the Patronus Charm very soon now.

Ron and Fred's duel had started off with Fred trying to disarm Ron. When the spell hit his little brother, Fred smirked. That is, until the wand that fell to the ground turned into a rubber chicken. Fred's eyes widened in fear, and he sent up a shielding charm just in time to block Ron's stunner.

"What's the matter dear brother, don't like that your own fake wand was used against you?" Ron chuckled and Fred glared at him.

"You smart arse … what would you have done if I'd tried to stun you first?" Fred growled.

"Dodge?" Ron shrugged and did just that as Fred sent a curse at his head. "Now, now, Freddie … don't be so hasty."

"When did you become such an obnoxious arse?" Fred shook his head.

"I've always been this way … just ask Harry and Hermione," Ron shrugged as Fred sent another curse at him, but Ron blocked him this time. His plan was working so far. Step one, get Fred angry … he wasn't quite sure what he was supposed to do next, but he better think of something fast.

Fred then did something that he knew that he shouldn't, but at the moment he didn't care. He pulled some scraps of parchment from his pocket and transfigured them into spiders.

Ron gulped as soon as he saw the spiders form. He couldn't keep his eye on Fred because the spiders were coming after him. The one good thing was that he backed away so quickly, Fred wasn't able to take advantage of the situation before Ron shot a blasting hex at the spiders, luckily hitting them all.

"YOU BLOODY ARSE!" Ron yelled. His eyes were murderous when he looked at his brother and Fred actually felt afraid of his younger brother for the first time in his life. Ron looked like he had forgotten that he had a wand, as he took a step closer to Fred like he was going to punch him. However, this wasn't really the case, and Ron quickly sent a stunning spell at him. Fred was too shocked by his look to get out of the way in time.

"Er … nice job, Ron?" George said uncertainly, not sure how angry his little brother still was. He was surprised to see that Ron was smirking.

"Who knew I could out act one of you, eh?"

"You're not angry?" George said in surprise.

"Well, yeah, I'm angry … the git went below the belt with that spider curse," Ron grumbled, his voice annoyed, "but it's not like I was actually going to punch him over it or anything."

"Especially since beating him in the duel is a lot better than a punch in the face," Ginny chuckled. "Nice job, Ron."

"I really liked the wand gig," Lee sniggered. "Fred's face when he saw the chicken appear was priceless."

"True … you might have hope of becoming a good prankster one day," George said wrapping his arm around his brother. "Follow in our noble footsteps!"

"As if," Ron said, moving away from George as Hermione came over to congratulate him.

"That was really good, Ron," Hermione beamed at him. "Weren't you terrified when the spiders came?"

"Yeah," Ron shuddered just thinking about it, "but it pissed me off too … it was such a cheap move…"

"Yeah, like you weren't trying to piss me off, too," Fred said from behind Ron, he was frowning. "Good match Ron … and … well … I'm sorry about the spiders …"

"It's cool … I won after all," Ron smirked at his brother and Fred glared at him before laughing.

"We're going to have to do something about you before you get a big-head," Fred pointed out.

"Well, it looks like all the matches are over," Harry said and everyone looked up at him. "The people who have won their match today are Katie, Michael, Marietta, Hermione, Luna, myself and Ron."

"That sucks … it's just Gryffindors and Ravenclaws," Smith groaned.

"I was thinking that we could draw number to see who faces who in the next round," Hermione said thoughtfully. "That way we could see who has the bye match."

"That seems fair," Katie said and the rest of the people that were still in the tournament nodded their heads. Hermione conjured a box and put in seven numbers.

"The person who draws number seven won't duel," Hermione said. "Katie, why don't you draw first."

Katie did as she was told and pulled out number five. Soon after, everyone pulled out their numbers. The match ups for the next round were: Hermione vs. Marietta, Ron vs. Michael, Katie vs. Luna and Harry had drawn the bye.

O

At the next lesson, Harry surprised everyone by saying that they were just going to finish the tournament today. He was too excited about seeing who would win to put it off any longer, and he could feel that everyone felt the same way. That being said, he made it so that each match would go one at a time, starting with Hermione vs. Marietta.

Marietta seemed to be smug and Hermione looked determined as they faced each other. Not knowing her opponent at all, Hermione decided to take a more cautious approach to this duel and it seemed that Marietta wanted to do the same thing. Hermione realized after twenty seconds of just staring at her opponent that Marietta was not planning on attacking first. The other girl was obviously planning on using some sort of counter curse. Hermione wasn't about to fall for that, so she waited too.

Everyone in the crowed seemed annoyed by this duel, because nothing was happening at all. Time seemed to be running out and neither person even raised an arm. Hermione saw that Marietta was starting to get uncomfortable as she stared straight into the other girl's eyes. This fight might not have been very exciting to watch, but that didn't mean it wasn't intense. It seemed to be a battle of the mind and Hermione was determined not to lose. She could see the other girl's nerve weaken as the seconds ticked down toward the end of the duel.

With only twenty seconds left to go, Hermione's arm twitched and Marietta immediately cast a tricky curse that would automatically reflect any curse it's hit with directly back on the caster. The only problem with this though, was that Hermione hadn't actually sent a curse at the other girl, who was now open for an attack. Hermione quickly cast the full body bind on Marietta, causing her to fall awkwardly to the ground.

"Well done, Mione!" Ron cheered, getting up to give her a hug. "Interesting fight, though."

"Don't you mean boring?" Fred corrected, smiling at Hermione all the same. "Nice job."

"No, trust me, I've been in plenty of mind games with her and they're never boring," Ron grimaced.

"I'm not sure how I should take that comment," Hermione frowned before smiling at him. "Good luck in your match, Ron."

"Thanks," Ron smiled as he looked over at Michael. Now Ron knew that Ginny had already broken up with him, but that didn't change the fact that Michael was a git and he was looking forward to this match.

The problem Ron seemed to be facing with this opponent was that he didn't know Michael very well, so he didn't know how plan for this duel. He hadn't even watched any of Michael's previous matches, but he wasn't about to let that stop him. He was just going to have to fight his own style and see what came of that.

The duel started with Michael and Ron both trying to disarm their opponent right off the bat, their spells meeting closer to Michael but deflecting off each other erratically. Ron recovered first from this and sent a stinging hex at Michael, which he was able to achieve with a quick flick of the wrist (he had no time to perform any of the more complicated, winning curses).

Michael hissed when the curse hit him in the shoulder of his wand arm. He retaliated by trying to stun Ron, but his aim was slightly off. Ron sent a jelly-legs jinx at Michael who was able to block it somewhat with a hasty shield. It wasn't strong enough to stop the jinx completely, and Michael's legs now felt weak. In addition, he was having trouble raising his wand arm due to the stinging hex. Still, he tried to curse Ron again, but his arm movement was so slow that he was wide open for another attack from Ron. Ron used this advantage to cast _Rictusempra_, which knocked the other boy down and had him laughing hysterically on the floor for several seconds. Ron was tempted to let this duel drag on, but he didn't want to humiliate the guy any longer so he stunned Michael then.

"Nicely done, Ron," George smirked. None of the Weasley boys were fans of Michael.

"Gits," Ginny rolled her eyes at her brothers as they all chuckled amongst themselves.

"It was still a good match," Hermione said smiling at Ron. "The stinging hex was a smart move … it made it harder for him to fight after that."

"It's not always that good of a move," George grumbled remembering that he had used that before Fred had beaten him. "You were lucky you hit his wand arm like that.

"Tell me about it," Ron chuckled. "I wasn't really aiming, but I'm glad it hit there."

"Are we going to start the next match or not," Harry said to them, as they were all standing where that fight was going to take place.

"Hmm … I don't even get a 'nice job' from you … no it's just 'get out of the way'," Ron mock grumbled as Harry smirked at him.

"Yep!" he chuckled and then added, "and get out of the way."

"I'll wipe that smirk off your face, Potter," Ron glared at his friend.

"Sure … but before you'll even have a chance, you're going to have to defeat your girlfriend." Harry pointed out and Ron and Hermione looked at each other.

"He's right … we are going to face each other next," Hermione frowned and then looked up at Ron angrily.

"Don't worry … I won't take it easy on you, I don't want to get my bollocks cursed off," Ron said.

"There's no need to curse, Ronald," Hermione huffed. "And what do you mean 'take it easy on me'?"

"I said I won't … geesh, don't you listen?" Ron said annoyed.

Harry shook his head as his two best friends continued to bicker. He was sure that neither one of them was really that upset about this, they were just trying to get in the right frame of mind for their duel.

Luna and Katie got up then. It seemed that all the Gryffindors were rooting for Katie while the Ravenclaws and Hufflepuffs were rooting for Luna … they didn't want only Gryffindors to be in the finals. Luna, like always, seemed to not realize where she was, nor was it clear if she realized that almost half of the people were rooting for her. She merely pulled her wand from over her ear and smiled at Katie when they faced each other.

Katie tried to disarm Luna right away like she had against Susan, but Luna flicked her wand just in time to send up a shielding charm. The curse deflected straight back toward Katie, and she had to dodge it, leaving her open for Luna to use the stunning spell on her.

"Well that was quick," Harry smiled at Luna, "nicely done."

"Yeah Luna, that was cool," Hannah smiled at her.

"I had to admit that your reaction time was pretty good," Fred added, smiling at her.

"Thanks," Luna replied, looking surprised by all the praise she was getting.

"I thought you said that Expelliarmus was a good spell to use right at the beginning?" Smith huffed.

"It is, but that doesn't mean it's fool proof," Harry frowned. "Nothing is. You always have to be prepared for whatever might come while you're dueling."

"So basically, you can't really give us any tips …" Smith rolled his eyes. "You …"

"Each duel is different. What I hope you'll learn from this exercise is how to develop your instincts and see what skills need to be worked on," Harry said. "Ron, Hermione, you're up."

"Let's do this," Ron said, his ears were red and he was glaring at Hermione. If the look on their faces was any clue, Harry was sure that they had argued throughout Katie and Luna's entire duel (not that that lasted long), as well as the conversation afterwards.

"Fine," Hermione said looking just as upset.

Ron and Hermione each sent a curse right off the bat, which met halfway between them. However, the charm that Hermione used seemed to deflect back at Ron, as it was designed to do (Ron's spell did the same to Hermione but she was ready for the curse to come at her). Ron swore as he was knocked to the floor, sending up a shield charm just in time to block Hermione's follow up curse. She wasn't surprised that he recovered so fast, so she was able to block the attack that Ron sent next. She was surprised that he used the jelly-legs jinx at that time, and she whispered, _finite incantatem_, having a feeling that he was planning something.

Ron, who didn't noticed this at all, got up and set a stunning spell at her, which she was able to block. She quickly fired a curse of her own which hit Ron, causing a blindfold to appear over his eyes. He cast a shielding charm immediately and used his free arm to rip the blindfold off … which he was happy to see was easy to do. However, he was surprised when he couldn't immediately see Hermione. She had moved to his left side, and he didn't spot her until it was too late. Before he could even aim his wand, he was hit with the full body bind.

"Nicely done, Hermione," Harry smiled at her as Fred revived his brother.

"Thanks, Harry," Hermione replied, but she was looking at Ron nervously. He wasn't looking too happy about losing, but he was trying not to take it out on her.

"Yeah … good job," Ron mumbled, "but did you really have to blind me?"

"You have a faster reaction time than me," Hermione shrugged. "I needed a distraction and thought it would work."

"Still … why were you able to move?" Ron frowned. "I hexed your feet to stick to the floor."

"Really?" Hermione said, smiling. "Well, I did cast _finite incantatem _after you sent the jelly-legs jinx at me … I thought you might have something else up your sleeve."

"Hmph," Ron huffed.

"Sorry," Hermione smiled at him. "I supposed it helped me, knowing my opponent."

"Yeah, whatever," Ron grumbled.

"We probably should start our next match," Harry said and turned to Luna. "Are you ready?"

"Yes," Luna answered simply.

"Go Luna! You can beat that scrawny git!" Fred cheered.

"Oi!" Harry pouted.

"Sorry Harry, but you are the teacher of sorts here …" Fred shrugged.

"Yeah … no one's going to want you to win," George added, there was a round of chuckling going around the room at this and he felt that Luna probably had at least three fourths of the crowd for her after that.

Harry sighed when he walked up to the stage, but smiled at Luna all the same. He had been hoping for a chance to duel her since the tournament began. Harry started the duel by sending a stinging hex at Luna, but she was able to block it. She then waved her arms around and little lights seemed to start surrounding Harry. He wasn't sure what to do about this, but when they didn't do anything at first, he decided to put them from his mind for now and sent a curse at Luna that missed her. He frowned at that … he had been sure he would hit her with that, but she didn't fall backwards like she should have.

Luna then sent a stinging hex at Harry. He was surprised when it brushed past his left arm … the curse wasn't even close to him. He realized then that something was seriously wrong, and he had a feeling it had something to do with the lights that Luna had conjured. They were messing with his vision just enough to make it harder to hit her. Realizing this helped him a lot when he remembered just how everything was skewed. He fired his next stunning curse to the left of where he saw Luna standing and smiled when he heard her gasp in surprise, knowing he had hit his target.

He blinked his eyes several times to try to get his eyes back to normal, but it didn't do anything until the lights that Luna made started to fade.

"Wow Luna, that was a really interesting spell you used," Harry said after Hermione had revived her. "I wouldn't mind if you taught me that one some time."

"Oh … it's really simple. I can show you now if you'd like," Luna smiled at him.

"Well … we should actually finish the tournament first, but if you don't mind you can show me after that," Harry said.

"I would like to learn it too, Luna," Ron said. "It seems to be an effective spell."

"Yes … but it seems that I have to work on aiming," Luna sighed. "Harry was able to figure out the charm faster than I thought he would."

"Thanks," Harry smiled at her.

"So, I guess the finally match is Harry vs. Hermione," Lee sighed.

"Hmm … now I'm not sure who I should root for this time," George said frowning.

"I thought you just said that no one wanted the teacher to win this?" Hermione pouted.

"Yes … but that seems to be nullified when you're involved too," George shrugged. "I mean you're like the teacher's aide or pet or something."

Hermione glared at him, but he just chuckled in return. "Don't get you knickers in a bunch, I think I'll be rooting for you anyway."

The crowd seemed evenly divided this time, and there were even people who were cheering for both duelers at the same time.

"Are you ready for this, Harry?" Hermione asked as they faced each other.

"Bring it on!" Harry smirked at her.

"In this corner, we have the brainy wonder of the world, sometimes known as the brightest witch of her generation, Hermione Granger!" Lee said, having wished for the commentary mike that he always used during Quidditch matches. "And in this corner we have a Defense Against the Dark Arts genius, the boy who lived himself, Harry Potter! Which one of these brave fighters will walk away with the title of top dueler? Let start the match to find out!" Lee finished and nodded to Fred, who would be refereeing this match.

Hermione started the duel by sending an odd looking hex that Harry hadn't seen before. It was stopped easily by his shielding charm; however, he noticed that it hit his shield oddly and was wary about what that meant so he backed away from his shield, which allowed him to dodge the next curse that Hermione sent at him.

He retaliated by sending a curse at her, but she easily blocked it before hitting the floor in front of Harry and causing the ground to rise, knocking him to the floor. He was able to roll to the right in order to miss the jinx she sent at him next, but he also missed when he tried to counter-curse her. They traded off shots like this for nearly ten minutes (it had been decided that this duel wouldn't end until someone was knocked down or the end of the lesson came).

Though Harry was the one who seemed to be moving all around, either because he was dodging Hermione's curses or because he was trying to hit her, she was the one who seemed to be showing signs of fatigue. Harry didn't let his guard down, however. She might really be tired, but he knew her too well to think that would make her any less dangerous. He decided to take a leaf out of Luna's book, and sent a red firework like curse at Hermione. It was the same spell he was taught to use if he were in trouble in the maze last year. The spell hit Hermione's shield just as he thought it would, but the light that came from the curse when it collided with the shield was so bright that it burned his eyes a little. He hoped it had a stronger effect on Hermione since she was closer to the impact.

Hermione wasn't about to let him get away with this and sent a spell at the floor, this time causing it to block her from his sight for the time it took for her to regain her vision. Harry, a little upset about this, sent a curse at her as soon as he could see her again, and she barely had time to block it. He wasn't really sure what else to do, and knowing that his reactions were faster than hers, he just continued cursing as quickly as he could. Finally, one of his stunning charms seemed to have some effect on Hermione, as she raised her shield only in time to prevent the brunt of the attack. She had to struggle to keep her eyes open and she sent her last desperate curse at Harry, who seemed to be holding off on sending another curse because he thought he got her.

Harry's instincts seemed to win out again, because he was able to put up his shield just in time to block her attack, though the power behind it had knocked him to the ground. If Hermione wasn't so drained by being hit by the stunning curse she would have been able to curse him now, but she was barely able to raise her arm as Harry sent his own curse from his place on the ground. This time, Harry's stunning curse hit its mark and Harry won the match.

"Nice job, Harry," Ginny was the first one to say but everyone seemed to be patting him on the back and congratulating him.

"It was a good match, Harry," Hermione admitted, shaking his hand, but looking disappointed. "I really thought I had you there for a moment."

"Yeah, me too," Harry chuckled.

"I'll make sure to get you next time," Hermione huffed. She hated losing no matter who she was facing and she wasn't going to let this happen again.

"I don't doubt it," Harry chuckled, "but it will be awhile before we duel again …"

"What?" everyone seemed to groan in unison.

"There seem to be a lot of things that we need to work on," Harry shrugged. "I think that we'll have another tournament in March or so."

"I guess that makes sense," he heard some people mutter.

"Well, that's all I really had planned for today," Harry said, "but if you're willing to stay a bit longer and Luna is up for it, I would like to learn that curse she used. If there's any time after that we'll be going over some of the basic again. No one has to stay if they don't want to…"

After that they all broke off and Luna seemed to be pleased to teach everyone her charm, which turned out not to be too difficult for most of the people to learn (everyone had decided to stay).

**A/N: I was going to split this chapter up but I didn't think it would be right to have three weeks of the dueling tournament even if the last two chapters are a little longer than my other chapters. Anyway, I'm planning on going back in time to focus on other characters than Harry in the next chapter. **


	7. The Locket

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Seven

The Locket

Sirius wasn't having the best of days. Harry and the others had left several days ago and life at Grimmauld Place had seriously declined. He knew it would, there was little reason for anyone to stay around, but he had hoped that he would have felt better about it. To make matters worse, it was now time for him to try to convince Kreacher that they were actually on the same side and to be nice to the elf.

It was true that he had been nicer to Kreacher since he had shown up again in the attic a few days before everyone left, but the elf seemed to just grow more and more suspicious of him. It seemed that he couldn't believe Sirius would be nice to him unless there was going to be some kind of punishment afterward. Sirius couldn't really blame the elf though, he would have been just as suspicious if Kreacher was suddenly trying to be nice to him.

"Sirius, you can't put this off any longer," Remus said, as he walked in on his friend sitting in the kitchen looking thoughtful. "We need to know what happen to the locket and we need to make sure Kreacher is on our side or at least can no longer talk to your cousin."

"I know," Sirius sighed and then said, "Kreacher!"

The elf appeared before him moments later; the contempt in his eyes was clear as he bowed. "What is Master Sirius wanting with Kreacher? This is not like Master Sirius, he must be up to something," he added under his breath, looking more suspicious than ever.

Sirius gave a look to Remus, as if he were right about something before he addressed the elf. "So er … how have you been …?"

Remus looked over at his friend shaking his head. This wasn't helping. "Sirius…"

"Right," Sirius frowned. "Look Kreacher, I'm going to be straight with you … I don't like you and you don't like me …"

"Sirius!" Remus groaned and then glared at his friend.

"What? Kreacher is not going to believe me if I suddenly start acting nice to him," Sirius said. "But if I'm honest with the little creep things might work better."

"How about you refrain from calling him names?" Remus rolled his eyes.

"I'll try," Sirius sighed.

"What is it that Master Sirius is wanting Kreacher to be doing?" Kreacher asked, still looking at Sirius with suspicion in his eyes.

Sirius frowned, even after thinking about it for days, he still didn't know what he was going to say to this elf. He sighed and started again. "Kreacher, do you remember that locket that me and the others tried to throw away at the beginning of the summer? I want to know what happened to it."

Kreacher's eyes narrowed further.

"Hmph!" Sirius huffed and than sat down at the table. "Great, I made things worse already."

"Kreacher, we …" Remus started to talk to the elf but he shuddered.

"The beast is talking to Kreacher. Kreacher can not be listening to him," the elf said.

"Kreacher!" Sirius hissed, but Remus put his hand on Sirius's shoulder so that he couldn't move. "I don't want to hear you say that," he said in a calmer voice. "And tell me where the locket is!"

Kreacher eyes went wide and Sirius could tell that he was trying his hardest not to answer the simple question, but the elf couldn't stop himself. "Kreacher is keeping it behind the boiler."

"Thanks, Kreacher," Sirius said relieved that it was there, that it hadn't been stolen or anything like that yet. "You don't know how much this is going to help us having the locket."

"Why is Master Sirius wanting the locket, Kreacher wonders?" the elf mused to himself.

"So I can make sure that my brother didn't die in vain," Sirius answered truthfully, and not really regarding Kreacher at all.

"What …?" Kreacher gasped.

"I know that Regulus asked you to destroy that locket," Sirius said looking at Kreacher, his face contorted in pain as he was forced to think about what had become of his brother.

"How is Master Sirius knowing that?" Kreacher asked, still too shocked to look suspicious.

"The same way that I know you left the house and were talking to my cousin," Sirius said frowning at the elf who was now looking as if he was about to have a nervous break down. "I don't want you punishing yourself," he added when the elf ran towards counter and Sirius was sure he was moments away from doing something horrible to himself. "Whatever it is that you did in that visit is already done, but I need you to never go back there unless I order you to."

Kreacher nodded his head in understanding, but he was looking miserable and confused and Sirius was sure that the elf still hated him.

"Look Kreacher, I'm not going to pretend that things can ever change between us," Sirius sighed, "but right now we can work together to destroy the locket …"

"Why is you wanting to help Master Regulus?" Kreacher asked, again back to his suspicious nature.

"I'm sure even you noticed that I cared about Regulus, even if I couldn't stand my parents," Sirius said, he was trying to be completely honest with Kreacher; that was the only thing he could offer the elf that wouldn't seem forced.

Kreacher looked thoughtful for a long time, but Sirius could see that the elf had concluded that he was telling the truth.

"Get the locket please," Sirius said in a softer voice than he would normally use with the elf, "and meet me in the attic."

Kreacher went to the little room that he used as Sirius and Remus climbed up the stairs.

"I don't think that went as well as we were hoping for," Remus pointed out to his friend.

"Probably not, but it's going better than I thought it would," Sirius sighed. "He has never trusted me and I doubt that's ever going to change. Hopefully things can get better between the rest of you though … hopefully we'll be able to see the cheerful Kreacher."

"What is Master planning on doing, Kreacher wonders?" the elf said pacing by the door to the attic.

"Destroy the locket of course," Sirius answered the elf's muttering.

"But Kreacher is trying to do that for years," the elf said almost indignantly. "But Kreacher is not being able to open it. Kreacher knows once it is being open, Kreacher can destroy it, but Kreacher is not knowing how."

"That's okay Kreacher, I know how to open it," Remus said. Harry had taught him the word (it had taken the boy a long time to be able to speak Parseltongue, but eventually he got it), and he remembered the pronunciation.

"And I know how to destroy it," Sirius said, thinking of the fire that would destroy everything in its path, "which is why we're going to the attic. Dad charmed this place to withstand the most powerful curses and Dumbledore has reinforced the enchantments."

"What's the matter, Kreacher?" Remus asked when he noticed the elf's ears drop.

Kreacher eyes bulged and Remus knew that the elf still didn't like being addressed by a werewolf, but was forcing himself not to say anything.

"Kreacher, answer him," Sirius said in a strained voice. He was trying his hardest to be nice to the elf, and it wasn't so hard except at times like this. He couldn't stand anyone or anything treating his friend badly especially when it's only based on the fact that he's a werewolf.

"Kreacher is wanting to destroy the locket," Kreacher replied in a forced voice.

Sirius and Remus looked at each other for a moment until Sirius finally bowed his head and said, "Very well Kreacher, you can have one try but if it doesn't work, I'll be the one to destroy it."

Kreacher nodded his head, a smile almost crossing his features before he remembered who he was talking to and replaced it with a determined look. Sirius sighed, he really wanted to be the one to destroy this locket, but he couldn't deny the elf the chance, especially after he thought of the years Kreacher had been trying to destroy the locket and been driven mad by his failure.

They all walked into the attic and Remus took the locket from Kreacher. He held it on a beaten up looking table. It took him a few times to get the inflection right, and Sirius would have laughed at his friend hissing at a locket if he didn't know what was about to come. Finally the locket was open and, just like the book, it seemed to want to try to make a final stand.

"I know what's in your heart," a high pitched voice said and the locket started to shake.

"Kreacher," Remus prompted the elf, who shot some kind of elven magic at the locket, but it didn't seem to work. Sirius was about to raise his own wand and finish the locket himself when something came out of the locket. The ghostly version of his little brother was now standing in front of him.

"You feel guilty about what happened to me," the locket Regulus said in a high pitched voice that wasn't his own, but both Sirius and Kreacher were transfixed with it. However, the image didn't pay any attention to the elf, even in this form it seemed Voldemort had little regard for house elves.

Sirius shook his head, knowing exactly what was going on but the locket continued to talk and he couldn't stop himself from listening.

"As you should be," the locket Regulus said. "If you had been a little more respectful to our parents I wouldn't have had to please them so much … be the good son that did everything they wanted. I couldn't let them have two disappointments for children."

Sirius scoffed at this, and raised his wand.

"I might never have joined him if it wasn't for you," the locket Regulus continued and that stopped Sirius short. "I tried to talk to you but you brushed me off … you wrote me off before I even had a chance to make a decision! I would be alive right now if it were not for you …

Sirius's hand shook. He remembered the letter his brother had written to him the summer before his final year at Hogwarts, asking him to meet him. Sirius had plans to go to a Quidditch game that day and he was sure that there was nothing his brother could say that would make any difference. Could he have made a difference? Could he have helped Regulus stay away for the Death Eaters? If he had just agreed to speak with his brother, would it have kept Regulus from dying the way that he had?

"I'm not the only one you let down," the locket Regulus went on mercilessly and Sirius flinched. His mind flashed immediately to James and Lily and how his actions had led to their deaths. "They trusted you like I did, and you let us all down. You have already let your only remaining friend down, believing that he would betray you because he was a werewolf. You hate everyone who judges him because of that, but you, his best friend had condemned him … you're the worst hypocrite imaginable."

"SIRIUS!" Remus yelled over the locket's voice; he had been shouting for the last minute but his friend couldn't hear him at all. His friend still didn't seem to be able to hear him so Remus looked to Kreacher, who was looking at Regulus with an awe-struck expression.

"Kreacher, please try to destroy the locket again," Remus said to the elf.

"Master Regulus," Kreacher said, he wanted to smile because he longed to see his master again, but something was terribly wrong with him. Regulus had never been one to be cruel, even to Sirius who deserved it. And Regulus wouldn't have ignored Kreacher as he was now, no this couldn't really be him.

"Kreacher, Regulus wanted you to destroy the locket," Remus reminded the elf.

Those words seemed to have done the trick, it made the elf more determined than ever and using the most deadly spell that house elves know, he cast it at the locket. It wasn't enough to destroy the Horcrux, there was no spell known to the elves that would have done that, but it was enough to cause the image of Regulus to fade for a second. It was enough for Sirius to realize what was going on, and he raised his wand and shouted the curse that would be the death of this bit of Voldemort's soul.

The flames started out relatively calm, but Remus knew they only had a few seconds to get out of there before escape would be made almost impossible.

"Sirius, come on!" Remus pushed his friend toward the door and then grabbed Kreacher, who was frozen in horror at the image of the locket Regulus being overcome by the flames. Once outside, Remus closed the door and cast a charm on it that would make it impossible to open until the fire had died out.

"Well, that's one more Hor … one more down," Remus sighed as he leaned against the wall. He didn't want to mention the Horcrux in front of Kreacher, still not sure what the elf will do in the future.

Sirius didn't say anything as he slumped down the wall and sat covering his face. The locket sure did know how to bring out all of his insecurities, but it had been right, he had let everyone down. His brother, James and Lily, Remus … he even let Harry down.

"Sirius," Remus sighed and then sat next to his friend, "you have to let yourself off the hook about all of that … it wasn't your fault."

"Yeah," Sirius said in a would be indifferent voice if it wasn't for the fact that it was so glum.

"You don't know what would have happened to your brother if …" Remus started.

"He did write me, and I blew him off," Sirius said. "What kind of brother does that?"

"I don't know, Sirius," Remus sighed. "I can't answer that, but you still don't know if anything would have changed if you had talked to him. Not to mention I'm not sure if Regulus could have refused to become a Death Eater …"

"What makes you think that?" Sirius said momentarily too shocked to look sad.

"Your family is full of Death Eaters, Sirius," Remus said. "I doubt they would have let him choose anything but that."

"Maybe," Sirius frowned, this didn't make him feel any better.

"And you didn't let James and Lily down," Remus frowned, "or at least you weren't the only one. We all played a part in that," he added his eyes growing incredibly sad.

"I'm the one who suggested that the rat take my place as secret keeper," Sirius said bitterly, which was directed mostly at himself but some of it was at the rat too. "And I did think you were the traitor."

"I know," Remus said. "Did I tell you that I thought you were the traitor, too … I mean even before … that day. I thought that you were the one who was feeding Voldemort information."

"You did?" Sirius said, it was odd how that made him feel better, if only slightly.

"Yeah, though I have no idea what I was thinking," Remus sighed, shaking his head. "I knew how much you cared about James. There was no way that you would do that, but we knew that someone had to be passing Voldemort information and … I thought of that time that you used me as a prank…" Sirius flinched at the memory, "and then I thought of your family and how cruel some of your family members could be and what could be crueler than to betray your best friend. It never sat well with me thinking this, but after everything that happened I thought it was true and I wondered how much of our friendship was real …"

"You thought of my family," Sirius said with a shaky laugh, "that's just as bad as me thinking that you could betray us because you're a werewolf."

"I know," Remus said giving a similar laugh as Sirius. "You tried so hard to be different than them and I still thought that you might have been like them."

There was a long silence after that until Sirius said, "I didn't really think it was because you're a werewolf you know. It was the people that you were around that made me think that you might be betraying us."

"It was part of my Order mission to hang around questionable characters," Remus pointed out. "Dumbledore thought that because of my status as a werewolf, some of the other werewolves and other unsavory characters would feel more comfortable talking to me."

"Did it work?" Sirius asked.

"Not really," Remus sighed.

"I wish we would have just talked about this before," Sirius sighed, his guilt starting to get the better of him again.

"Me too," Remus sighed, "but we can't change the past and we've all paid for what has happened …"

"Do you think it would have been better if I didn't go after _the rat?_" Sirius asked.

"Maybe," Remus said thoughtfully. "You might have had a trial then."

"But who knows if anyone would have believed my crazy claims," Sirius sighed.

"Well, they might have … _Peter_," Remus said, forcing himself to say the name and finding it coming out bitterly on his tongue. "... would have had to either be at the trial or vanished from sight … either way it might have been enough to get you off."

Sirius didn't say anything, wondering what his life would have been like if he had never chased the rat. He wondered if he would have gotten custody of Harry. Maybe Harry never would have had to suffer through living with his horrible relatives, the two of them could have lived together in peace. Probably Remus would have lived with them too … or at least been a big part of their lives. It was nice to think about, but nothing could make that real.

Sirius then looked over to the house elf who was sitting by the door that could not be opened. Kreacher seemed to be crying. Sirius thought about the last image that he had seen as the door had closed … his brother being engulfed by flames and thought he knew what that was about.

"Kreacher," Sirius sighed and the elf looked at him reluctantly. "It wasn't him, Kreacher."

"Kreacher is knowing that, sir," Kreacher said still weeping.

"You did good, Kreacher. If it wasn't for you, the locket never would have been destroyed," Sirius said honestly. "Thanks."

"Kreacher is doing as Master R-Regulus asked," Kreacher said starting to cry harder than ever.

"And he would be very proud of you," Sirius said. The elf didn't say anything to him, but Sirius was sure that things between them had changed. No, they would never exactly like each other, but things had gotten better.


	8. Gathering Information

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Eight

Gathering Information

Bill wasn't really sure how he was supposed to go about asking the goblins about who had access to a vault. After all, it was only a week and a half ago that he asked them about increasing the security of many vaults, including the oldest and most secured vaults in the bank. If he suddenly asked if there were ways of getting into those vaults other than by having the vault owner there, he was sure the goblins would be more than a little suspicious of him. At the very least he would never be trusted again by the goblins, and there were too many other things they could do to him that he was sure would be really bad for him.

"Bill," a voice said from behind him and he had to smile before he was even able to turn around. Fleur had been helping him this whole time, though they haven't been able to find out anything. There was no documentation that Bill could find that mentioned anything about who could have access to a certain vault. "I was theenking about 'aving lunch … do you want to come with me?"

"Yeah, okay," Bill said getting up from his desk. He would have loved to have been able to kiss her, but the goblins had made it clear that they didn't want any workers fraternizing inside the work place. They didn't give a damn about anyone's personal life, but if you brought it to work, the goblins would fire you without so much as a warning. In fact, Fleur's invitation for lunch was just about the extent that they were allowed to talk to each other inside the bank. That was part of the reason why he had liked working in Egypt so much; there were considerably fewer restrictions when you were working outside the actual bank. Regardless, he knew he had made the right decision. What he was doing for the Order was more important than having the job he loved, not to mention if he hadn't moved back here he never would have gotten to know Fleur and that was unimaginable.

"So, anything new?" Fleur asked, as she each of the last few times they were able to have lunch. Her tone today was different, however, and Bill raised an eyebrow at her curiously, but she didn't say more.

"No," Bill finally sighed, "there's no way for me to find out about who has access to the vaults without asking the goblins … which pretty much means that there's no way that I can find out about it." He noticed then that Fleur was smiling a little smugly and he felt his heart skip a beat at her beauty, but he forced himself to look natural as he asked, "Unless you found a way to do it."

"Well I 'ave 'ad a thought zat might 'elp," Fleur said, "though I'm not sure 'ow much. I recall you said something about 'Arry having anuzzer vault."

Bill looked thoughtful about this, already knowing where Fleur was going and wasn't sure himself how helpful this would be. "Thanks right," he responded.

"Is eet in high security?" Fleur asked.

"Yeah, I believe so … it was listed as one of the biggest vaults," Bill said.

"Zen maybe you could ask zee goblins about security measures for zat vault and it would make it so you don't look suspicious," Fleur said.

"It might help," Bill agreed.

"But …?" Fleur asked, she could tell that there was more to that statement.

"But how am I to know if what I'm being told is true for all of the vaults or just Harry's?" Bill sighed. "Not to mention, I'm not sure the goblins would trust me poking around in Harry's matters any more than if I just ask them about the Lestrange's."

"Zat is true, but I was thinking zat since your family is so close to Harry, eet wouldn't be zat 'ard to get the goblins to 'elp us," Fleur said. "Didn't you tell me zat you 'ad even convinced zem to allow you to get money from 'Arry's vault last summer?"

"Well, yeah, but that was just his trust fund," Bill said rubbing the back of his head. "This is different."

"And you're not even trying!" Fleur rolled her eyes in annoyance which actually caused Bill to laugh and her to glare at him.

"This will be tricky, but you do have a point, this might be useful," Bill then added thoughtfully, "I'm just going to have to think of the way to ask this best."

O

He had taken a few days to ponder how best to ask the goblins about Harry's vault and, more importantly, get information on the Lestranges' vault. Finally, he had a plan that he thought would work and just waited for his day off. If the goblins don't like you fraternizing at work, they hate it even more if you spend work time on personal matters.

"Mr. Weasley," a wizened looking goblin said, looking up from the book he was writing in when Bill had knocked on the door, "I don't believe you're working today."

"No sir," Bill said, not talking a step into the goblin's office, for he knew that this goblin would have seen it as disrespectful to do so without being invited in. "I'm here on a request from someone whose vault you have command of."

The goblin slowly put his quill down and gave Bill a searching look before responding. "Very well, come in and make it quick."

"Thank you, sir," Bill said walking in quickly and trying to remember how he was going to say this. He knew Gornuk was the one in charge of most of the older vaults, but he had little patience with dealing with wizards on the few occasions when it was necessary. Bill knew he would have to be quick with the questions he needed to ask. "Let me get straight to the point. It has come to Harry Potter's attention that he has more than one vault … or I should say that there is another vault under the Potter name."

"And he is wondering if he can get into it," Gornuk interrupted, shaking his head. Bill wasn't sure if he was saying that it would be impossible to get into or if he just thought Harry was being impatient. He did know however, that goblins as a whole don't consider anyone (especially wizards) underage to be responsible enough to look over something as important as their gold.

"Not exactly," Bill said cryptically and Gornuk raised his eyebrow curiously. "I told him it would be impossible to get into his vault until he was seventeen. He's actually more curious about who has control over his vault as of right now."

"I see," Gornuk said in a thoughtful voice that Bill had come to associate with being impressed, before he begin frowning again. "Why has he sent you here to do this?"

Bill, who was expecting this question to come up, answered in a calm voice that he hoped didn't betray that he was lying. He was sure that Harry wouldn't have minded him asking these questions, and he will indeed benefit from the answers, but Bill hadn't strictly gotten the boy's approval. "For two reasons: One, being that he is in school right now, he can't come to Gringotts himself."

"I see," Gornuk said, but Bill could see that he wasn't impressed by this answer, "the second reason?"

"He knows that I work for you and he hopes that I will be able to ask some questions that might not occur to him," Bill said simply.

"I would prefer to talk to Mr. Potter if he had questions," Gornuk said, but he was looking at Bill closely now and Bill just looked back at him knowing that he if he said anything now, it wouldn't help him at all. The goblin wouldn't appreciate him interfering any more than he already had. It was several long moments before Gornuk broke the silence. "Very well, you may ask your questions, Mr. Weasley."

"Thank you, sir. First of all, Harry was wondering if there was any way he could access the main vault before he turns seventeen," Bill said, trying to sound as official as he could.

"I thought you said that he didn't want to get into his vault?" Gornuk said, now looking suspicious.

"He doesn't want to withdraw from it, he's just curious about what has been left behind, and he wondered who had control over the vault until he turns seventeen," Bill said.

"A very conscientious young wizard isn't he?" Gornuk said, still suspicious.

"I might have raised a few of these questions myself," Bill shrugged. "I just want to make sure that nothing happens to him or his belongings."

"I see," Gornuk said, "but I'm afraid you might not like the answer to your question. We have been given the strictest orders as to who the Potter fortune should be entrusted to until Harry James Potter reaches the age of seventeen and therefore is seen as an adult in the eyes of wizards. Seeing as the Potter line has nearly been depleted, the line of succession wasn't clear. However, James Potter had formally entrusted everything to one Sirius Black."

Bill's eyes widened at that thought and he had to try to keep himself from laughing more than anything else. Of course Gornuk would think this was bad, Sirius was supposed to be one of the most dangerous criminals out there right now, but obviously he wasn't about to rob Harry of everything he had. He gulped, and tried to keep a wary face as he said, "and what does that mean? Could he come into Harry's vault and take anything he wanted until Harry regains control of it?"

"Theoretically, yes," Gornuk said cautiously. "However, it would take several hours at least for him to be shown to the vault. He would have to go through several more tests because he is merely the trustee of the vault and we would have to make sure he is who he says he is."

"Would you turn him in? If he suddenly showed up here?" Bill asked.

"It is not our place to get involved in wizards' affairs," Gornuk said bristly. "We give the same courtesy to all of our clients and Sirius Black is no exception. However, there are several wizards in this place like yourself, Mr. Weasley, and other clients who might be inclined to tell the authorities."

"But if he gets past them, he can take whatever he wants," Bill insisted.

"I'm afraid so," Gornuk said, and he almost looked sorry about that. "However, there are a few precautions that seem to be in Mr. Potter's favor. First of all, I don't think it's likely that Sirius Black was informed that he had control over the Potter vault, seeing as he was arrested so quickly after the Potters were killed."

Bill nodded his head. He was sure that Sirius didn't know this and he could see why he hadn't been told.

"Second, as I have just said, it would talk hours for Sirius Black to get into the vault and days from him to empty it, if that is in fact what you're afraid of happening. It is not something that would go unnoticed by your community and I would say it would highly irregular if it were to happen at all.

"Third …"

"Sorry, but I have another question," Bill said, interrupting Gornuk. It didn't matter much how secure the vault was against Sirius, but Bill realized by the glare he was getting that he had just made a serious mistake and tried to recover quickly (he knew better than to interrupt a goblin, what was he thinking?). "I don't want to take up more of your time than I have to, and I understand that Harry's vault is as safe as possible at the moment, though not as safe as I would like it to be." The words seemed to pacify the goblin, but by no means got rid of his anger. "I was wondering if there was a way that anyone else could get into Harry's vault …?"

"Unfortunately it is impossible to get into the Potter vault without permission from Sirius Black," Gornuk said. "Not even Harry James Potter could get into the vault with out it."

"But Sirius Black doesn't have to be there?" Bill said thoughtfully. "You just need his permission … not even a face to face confirmation … just some kind of document?"

"That is correct, however, it's not just _some kind of document_," Gornuk said with narrowed eyes.

"No, I'm sure it's not," Bill said sighing. "If it is like any of the documents that I've looked over in the last five months it's not likely that they will be able to be forged by anyone."

Gornuk looked mollified by this, "No, so I do not suggest that you attempt this."

"No, of course not," Bill said, this time being the one who looked offended, though he was sure that he hadn't quite pulled it off. Knowing that he was running out of time, Bill forced a thoughtful look on to his face and continued his questions. "Are these extra precautions just because someone else is in charge of Harry's vault?"

Gornuk narrowed his eyes at this and Bill quickly continued.

"You said that Black would have a more difficult time getting into Harry's vault …"

"That is true, because it is only entrusted to him for a short time," Gormuk said. "We would not allow any trustee to go into a vault unless we were sure that they are who they say they are. However, when Mr. Potter comes of age, he will have all access to his vault and, if he choices then, can allow anyone into his vault even without him being present. However, there will have to be documentation that they are allowed there. This is standard practices for all of our high security vaults."

"Well, that's good to know at least," Bill sighed, trying to look like this was a wearisome conversation, but knowing that he gotten the information that he wanted from Gornuk without drawing too much suspicion to himself … at least he hoped he hadn't. "Thank you for you time."

The goblin let him go with a simple nod of the head and Bill left the room. That night at the Order meeting, he told everyone what he had found out.

"Well, I had to go about getting information in a round about way to keep the goblins from suspecting anything," Bill said when the meeting was turned over to him.

"I don't think that's possible. Goblins are suspicious of everyone," Moody said.

"Unlike some people we know," Tonks said with thin lips and a sparkle in her eye. Moody glared at her and Remus and Sirius had a hard time not chuckling at the comment.

"You're probably right, Moody," Bill said diplomatically. "They probably are suspicious of me. However, Fleur came up with a good idea that I ask about Harry's vault seeing as our family is so close to him. It seemed better than asking straight out about the Lestranges' vault and I think I got the information that I was looking for.

"Oh and by the way," he added turning to Sirius, "did you know that you have control over Harry's gold until he turns seventeen?"

"Me?" Sirius said shocked. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, it seems that James made it clear that you were to look after everything," Bill said. "Gornuk seemed convince that you would have robbed him blind if you only knew that."

Sirius shook his head chuckling at that thought and Bill continued to explain what he had learned.

"And that's it," he finished with a sigh. "It's clear that the only way that you can get into a high security vault is if you have permission to go in there by the person who is responsible for the vault. There's no way that we would ever be able to forge a copy of that document and I'm guessing even the best of disguises won't help us if we try to impersonate someone who might have said permission."

"What do you mean? Hermione's disguise seemed to work in the book … well for the most part anyway," Sirius said.

"Not really," Tonks said shaking her head at him. "The goblins put up their defenses pretty quickly."

"I think that's nothing to what would happen if we tried to disguise ourselves," Bill said before the two of them could really begin arguing. "If anything, the goblins are almost relaxed when they are dealing with the person who owns a certain vault … or at least they wouldn't question them as much. If it weren't for the fact that Bellatrix warned the goblins in the book, as I am positive that she did, Harry, Ron, and Hermione might have gotten out of there a lot easier.

"However, they are much more suspicious of anyone else who would go into a vault that is not theirs. I doubt they would let you even get on the cart without putting you through a test or two."

"So what you're saying is that we are still no closer to getting into the Lestranges' vault," Sirius sighed.

"Pretty much, though I did learn that Harry's vault is one of the oldest in Gringotts," Bill said, "not too far from the Lestranges's vault … it might not be good news, but at least we have a way down there if we can think of nothing better than to try to rob the vault."

The meeting continued after that. Sirius explained about what had happened with the locket and told them of the semi improvement in Kreacher's behavior. It was clear that the elf wasn't as scornful as he had been before, but he wasn't nearly as cheerful as he had become in the book. Still, things were slowly starting to come together.


	9. Prison Break and First Date

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: So I have updated the beta-ed version of the last chapter for anyone that take care. **

**Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Eight

Prison Break and First Date

"So you destroyed the locket?" Harry said, looking into the mirror that Sirius had given to him few weeks ago. This was the first time that he had used it in that time, not having much to report, but today, shocking them all, the _Daily Prophet_ had informed them of a mass prison breakout that had everyone at Hogwarts on edge. Ten high profile Death Eaters, including Bellatrix Lestrange, had somehow escaped, and Sirius, of course, was being blamed. In light of this newest set back, Harry felt a great desire to talk to Sirius and find out all that the Order had been doing to fight Voldemort. Mostly, he wondered if they had made any progress on getting into the Lestrange vault, knowing it would be harder to do with Bellatrix and her husband now on the loose.

"Yeah, it was hard," Sirius sighed.

"Did the locket confront you with your worst fears?" Hermione asked, the trio were huddled in a corner of the common room. Hermione had caused the _Muffliato_ charm to make sure that no one could over hear them.

"Yeah, sort of," Sirius said, making a face. "It's not an easy thing to destroy."

"But what about the cup? Have you heard any news about the cup?" Harry asked anxiously.

"Bill has been working on that. He found out that only the Lestanges could get into the vault, unless they have given another person permission to enter the vault," Sirius said.

"What does that mean?" Ron asked.

"Well, now that those scumbags are loose on the world again, they would be free to get anything they wanted out of their vault. However, if they are seen in the wizarding world they would probably be arrested," Sirius explained. "So if they really did want something out of their vault, they could allow someone else to handle their account as long as they were given proof of the request."

"Is there any way that we could get that … or fake that we have proof?" Hermione asked.

"I would like to see anyone pull something over the goblins," Sirius shook his head. "What you guys did in the book was one thing, but to give a goblin a false document … it would never work."

"So we still don't know how to get into the vault," Harry groaned.

"No," Sirius sighed, "that's going to be the really tricky one."

"How are we going to kill Voldemort if we can't get into the vault?" Harry groaned in frustration.

"I don't know," Sirius said, "but at least the only Horcruxes left for us to destroy are the cup and the snake."

Harry didn't say anything but he rubbed the scar on his forehead, thinking of another Horcrux that had to be destroyed. Sirius sighed, but he couldn't bring himself to mention that Horcrux either.

"You know, I was thinking," Hermione said changing the subject that everyone was thinking about but avoiding discussing, "the book said that Harry gave Rita Skeeter an interview … I think it has something to do with what's happening now."

"What makes you think that?" Harry asked, glad to talk about something else, even if it involved Rita Skeeter.

"Well, as soon as I read the article today, I had an idea," Hermione said.

"Of course you did," Ron said rolling his eyes, "are you going to tell us what it is?"

"Well … I thought it would be good if your story about what happened in the graveyard was known to everyone," Hermione said biting her lip, not sure how Harry was going to take this news. "It might help people believe you … now that so many people have broken out of Azkaban people might be more willing to believe the truth. They deserve to know about the danger that is happening around them."

Harry didn't respond. He didn't want to talk about what happened that night, but at the same time he knew that Hermione was right, she usually was. Having that information out there could be helpful.

"Do we really have to involve that cow?" Ron asked with a groan.

"Well, that's why I haven't written to her yet … reading about how she's going to portray Dumbledore in the future doesn't make me want to use her, but I don't know who else we could use," Hermione sighed. "We need someone that people know and believe in, even if her stories are a bunch of bull, people seem to think what she writes is worth reading. Seeing as the only magazine that I can think of that would print this story is _The Quibbler_, we'll need all the credibility we can get."

"_The Quibbler_," Ron said making a face, but it had more to do with thoughts on how Mr. Lovegood had tried to turn them in than the magazine's questionable reputation. He wasn't sure he was ever going to trust that guy even if he had a good reason.

"Well yes, I was planning on talking to Luna about this tomorrow," Hermione said, "but I wanted to make sure that it was okay with you to talk to Skeeter, Harry."

"I suppose we don't have a choice," Harry sighed.

"Yeah, unfortunately I don't anyone else who would be credible," Sirius sighed. "Make sure to let me know how this works out."

"Sure thing, Sirius," Harry said and then said goodnight to his godfather and put the mirror away. "I suppose I should go to bed now … you coming Ron?"

"In a minute," Ron said and Harry rolled his eyes at his friends.

"Don't stay up too late kids, you have classes in the morning," he said sternly to the two of them.

"Shut up, Harry!" his friends chorused and then waited for him to leave.

"What's the matter, Mione?" Ron asked once they were alone.

"I'm just worried," Hermione admitted, leaning her head on Ron's shoulder as he wrapped his arms around her. "I know that things have changed because we've read the book … but I'm not sure it's going to be enough …"

"Enough?" Ron asked, not really sure what she was talking about.

"Don't you feel it?" Hermione asked him, but he didn't answer, still confused. "Even though things are different, they're still the same?"

"Hermione," Ron said in exasperation, "you're going to have to start speaking English if you want me to understand what you mean."

Hermione sighed, "I'm worried about what's going to happen to Sirius."

"Oh," was all Ron could say to that, but he couldn't deny that he was worried about that too.

"We might have destroyed some of the Horcruxes before they were supposed to be," she went on, "but have we really changed the time line that much? I know this breakout from Azkaban must have happened … it must have happened as it did. Maybe we're still on a course that will lead us to his death."

"Even if we are, we won't let that happen," Ron said softly. "We have warning now, so we could …"

"We have no idea how it happened … just a few clues, but not enough to know how to stop it!" Hermione interrupted him. "What if we can't? What if there's nothing we can do?"

"None of us know what's going to happen next, Hermione," Ron sighed. "We just have to believe that we can change things."

"I wish there was a more definite answer than that," Hermione sighed.

"Fine, we _will _make sure that nothing happens," Ron said firmly and before she could say anything else, he kissed her. It was a while before either one of them spoke again.

"Thanks," Hermione said breathlessly, "I think I really needed that."

"Don't mention it," Ron smiled at her and leaned in to kiss her again, though this time it was quick, they both knew it was time that they said goodnight.

O

Harry wasn't sure how he got through the next couple of weeks. After the breakout from Azkaban, everyone seemed to be on edge. The only good that came from this was how determined everyone got in the D.A. meetings. He was able to teach them a few new spells each class and everyone seemed to be trying twice as hard as they were before. Neville, of course, seemed to be working the hardest.

"Hey, Neville," Harry called as everyone was leaving after the first meeting of the D.A. since the announcement of the breakout, "could I have a word?"

Neville looked reluctant to stay behind. He could obviously see that Harry wanted to talk about his parents, something that many people had been asking him about over the last few days and it was something that he didn't want to talk about to anyone. Though, he had to admit, Harry was different than most of the others. At least he knew what it was like to a certain extent.

"What is it, Harry?" Neville frowned as all the others left the room, even Ron and Hermione who were giving the pair fleeting looks.

"Er … um, good work today," Harry said lamely. He wanted to reassure his friend, but he was really no good at this.

Neville raised an eyebrow at his friend before he started laughing, "Thanks Harry, but I doubt that's why you asked me to talk."

"No …" Harry agreed . "Look, it's not really my place to say anything, but I just wanted to let you know that if you do want to talk … I'll be here. Or if you want to learn more curses on your own, I'll be there for that, too."

"Thanks, Harry," Neville wasn't sure what else to say to that, but found that before they could leave the room he was talking again. "I'm sorry I didn't say anything about this before …"

"Neville, if anyone understands why you couldn't talk about this, it's me," Harry said softly, not looking at his friend. Neither boy really had much more to say after that, but there seem to be some understanding reached between them. Harry hoped this would help his friend become more confident in his own abilities.

Thing continued to move on in this manner, until it was finally the day that he had been worrying about. Of course, he had plenty of things to worry about, and he felt silly that his mind was on such a stupid thing, but he couldn't help but think about what was going to happen today. He was going on his first date ever, and to add to that pressure, he was still confused about his feelings.

He had barely spoken to Cho since he had asked her out, other than saying 'hi' when they passed in the corridors and giving compliments or pointers on whatever spell they happened to be working on in the D.A. meetings. He was sure that it would be good to talk to her … try and get to know her, but he couldn't seem to talk to her at all. Of course, he was busy during those lessons and he never saw her around school at other times, but still, after a month he would have thought they had a longer conversation than, 'that was a nice shot.'

"Are you nervous, Harry?" Hermione asked when he came down the stairs and he nodded his head.

"What am I supposed to say to her?" Harry asked miserably.

"I don't think I can tell you that," Hermione said trying not to smile at his question. "Try to find something that you have in common."

"Right," Harry sighed, now trying to think of what that might be. He became slightly frantic when the only thing he could think of was Quidditch.

"I'm sure it won't be that bad," Hermione tried to assure him when she noticed that he was still panicking.

"Thanks," Harry sighed, not reassured at all.

"Oh, Harry, I just remembered," Hermione said, "I got Skeeter's response to my letter and I need you to meet me at the Three Broomsticks … anytime will be okay, but …"

"Hermione," Harry groaned, "do I really have to do that today? How am I supposed to enjoy myself if I know I have seeing Skeeter and reliving that night to look forward to?"

Hermione didn't say anything to that … she didn't know what to say and Harry sighed again.

"I'll be there," he said simply, because the truth was, this was the most important thing he could do right now. He had to let everyone know the truth about what he had gone through so that they could understand what dangers they were facing. The public needed to know that Voldemort was back.

"I'm sorry, Harry …" Hermione started to say but he waved her off.

"It's okay … I've got to go," Harry said and then left the common room in haste. He was early, he wasn't supposed to meet Cho for another twenty minutes, but he didn't want to stay up there and think about what he would have to do later.

"Harry," Cho said nervously and tapped him on the shoulder.

"Oh, hello Cho," Harry said smiling and he could feel the familiar flip of his stomach. She really was beautiful and it quelled some of his nerves when she was standing next to him. He felt less guilty as he looked at her too, because he knew in this moment that he really should be going on this date. It wasn't because he thought he needed to or that he was trying to get away from the book and his written future, but because he really did like Cho. "You look beautiful," he said suddenly without meaning to, and he blushed almost as much as she did when he said that.

"Thanks," she smiled at him shyly. They walked a few steps not knowing what to say to one another when Harry remembered what Hermione said about talking about something they had in common.

"It's really good Quidditch weather isn't it," Harry said and then had to force himself not to groan. He was talking about the weather … that was never a good sign.

"I was thinking the same thing," Cho latched onto the conversation happily enough. "It almost makes me wish that we were practicing today … Oh, I'm sorry, you must miss being able to play terribly."

"Yeah, I really do," Harry sighed, "Flying has a way of making you forget all the trouble before you … I never have anything to worry about when I'm on my broom."

"Expect rogue bludgers," Cho commented and Harry chuckled.

"True, those are worrisome," he smiled, relieved how easy it was talking to her. "Besides I don't think you could have practiced today because the Gryffindor's booked the pitch."

"I know," Cho said looking over to the pitch where the team could be seen practicing from a distance. "I'm glad about not playing too … I'd hate to miss a Hogsmeade weekend."

"So … er … do you have any plans for the day?" Harry asked, not really sure what he was supposed to say after that and starting to get nervous again.

"Well … I did think that we could go to Madam Puddifoot's, it's this cute little cafe," Cho said smiling as she talked and Harry found himself agreeing to go there.

When he got to the place he had trouble hiding his disgust as the little 'cupid' showered confetti all over the place. He couldn't help the thought that came to his head the moment he walked into the place, _Ginny never would have made me come here. _He tried to shake that thought out of his head as soon as it came. He shouldn't be thinking about Ginny when he was out on a date with Cho.

"What do you think?" Cho asked as they sat at the table and Harry tried to smile at her.

"It's nice," he said in a voice that sounded very false to him, but she didn't seem to notice. They ordered some coffee and Harry noticed all the other couples that seemed to be here. There was silence between them, painful silence as he tried to think of something, anything to break it. However, it was Cho who brought up the subject of Umbridge and they were able to spend a good ten minutes talking about her and some of the other D.A. related things before that conversation died down.

"Harry?" Cho asked softly after they spent several minutes in another uncomfortable silence.

"Er … Yeah," Harry said hesitatingly.

"You seem different," Cho blurted out before she lost her nerve.

"Different?" Harry asked, not sure what she was talking about at all.

"We've all noticed it … all of us in the D.A. at least," Cho said in what she hoped was a matter of fact voice. "I mean with the tournament and your lessons … you seem more determined somehow."

Harry smiled at her, but couldn't say anything to that … he wasn't really sure if she was just talking about his behavior at the D.A. or if it was something more. Something told him it was something more. Cho was now looking away from him, towards a couple that seemed to be snogging and Harry started to feel really uncomfortable, wondering if she wanted him to make some kind of move on her. However, she started talking before he could do more than think.

"Harry … did Cedric mention me before he …" she started and then bit her lip, seeming to be overcome with emotion.

Harry sighed. Here it was, the other issue that always seemed to come up whenever he was with Cho. "No," he said in an emotionless tone. "It happened too fast. He didn't have time to say anything."

Cho shuddered at this thought and Harry wished that they could talk about something else, anything else. Hell, he would even take uncomfortable silence over this, but she started to cry again, probably thinking about Cedric and he couldn't stay silent.

"Can I ask you something?" Harry asked and Cho looked up at him, tears were in her eyes, but she tried to wipe them away. She nodded her head and he continued. "Last year, if I had asked you first… would you really have gone to the ball with me?"

Cho hiccupped at that question, and than nodded her head, "yes."

"But you were happier going with him," he continued looking down.

Cho didn't seem to know what to say to that and Harry found that didn't really need her to respond. "We never really talked that much, Cedric and I. The most we did was help each other out throughout the tournament," he went on, talking about something that he tried never to speak of. It was making his insides twist, but he knew that he was already going to go through hell today with the interview with Rita. "He must have cared about you a lot if you were what he would most sorely miss though …"

Cho's eyes started to water all over again, as she bit her lip so she wouldn't cry.

"I'm sorry," Harry said miserably, "I didn't mean to upset you …"

"You didn't, Harry," Cho said softly, it wasn't true, but she was the one who had brought Cedric up in the first place. She wanted to change the subject, she knew it wasn't fair to Harry that she always talked about Cedric, but she couldn't get the other boy out of her mind…especially when Harry was around. She couldn't think of anything to say though. She thought of last year when she had come here with Cedric and it had been easy for them to talk about things, but Harry was such a closed off person, she didn't know how to approach him. Not to mention, she had noticed lately that he didn't seem to look at her quite the same way, his eyes always seemed sad. She hardly ever saw the spark in them when she smiles at him.

"I've got to go to the Three Broomsticks pretty soon," Harry said, clumsily changing the subject.

"Oh," Cho said awkwardly, wondering if he was trying to ditch her of he wanted her to go with him.

"You can come if you want," Harry assured her, "but you honestly don't have to. I'm kind of dreading going myself … Hermione set up an interview so that I can get out the truth of, well… what happened at the end of last year."

Cho looked at him, admiration in her eyes, but she noticed immediately how green Harry looked at the thought of having to relive that. "I think that's a really brave thing to do."

He smiled at her, his stomach flipping slightly, but it wasn't as powerful as it had been when she had called him brave so many months ago. "I'm just hoping it will do some good."

"I'm sure it will," she said sincerely, "I know it will probably help me."

He smiled at her weakly.

"And it should help you to talk about it, too," she added thoughtfully.

"I'm not sure about that," Harry sighed looking at his hands. "It just brings back bad memories …"

Cho didn't know what to say about that … she wanted to know what he was thinking about, but it felt wrong asking. And it felt even worse because who she really wanted to hear about was Cedric … not Harry.

"He would have won on his own, you know," Harry found himself saying as if the truth was being drawn out of him for a reason he couldn't explain, but he knew that he wasn't going to be talking to her much after this day and a part of him wanted her to know this. "Cedric … my leg was busted and he was closer to the cup anyway … he would have won. But we helped each other out so much … I saved him from the _Cruciatus Curse_ and from a giant spider so he didn't think he deserved to win.

"That's the kind of guy he was was, willing to walk away from all that glory because he didn't think it was fair if he won," Harry said his voice was shaky but it seemed that Cho caught every word because she was crying again. She wasn't the only who was looking at him. It seemed that the others in the shop had decided to listen in on his conversation. He could have said more, but with everyone else's eyes on him, he fell mute.

Cho got up and kissed Harry on the cheek. "You must be that kind of guy too, Harry, seeing as you two tied."

Harry bowed his head. "He was the rightful winner," he whispered so no one but Cho could hear him, "but he wouldn't take it. I couldn't … but I wish I just took the trophy now …"

Cho grabbed his hand and gave it a squeeze; she didn't need for him to say any more. They left not too long after that and in the crowded streets, Harry was able to gather some of his composure.

"It's not going to work out between us, is it?" Cho asked when the Three Broomsticks came into view.

Harry looked at her sadly. A part of him wanted to give a different answer because she was still beautiful, she still made his stomach squirm, though it was less than before. He just didn't feel the same about her as he had. "I don't think so."

"Thank you for today," Cho said kissing his cheek again, "it meant a lot to hear this from you … and …" she trailed off, biting her lip. "I'm really sorry that things couldn't have gone better …"

"Me too," Harry sighed sadly, and the part of him that still cared about this girl seemed to be mourning, but as she walked away, he felt relieved that it was finally over. Of course, he knew that the feeling of relief would be short lived. As soon as he entered the pub, he would be forced to recount the details of one of the worst nights of his life, which would probably leave him even more emotionally wrecked than he was right now. He took a deep breath and steeled his nerves, reminding himself how important it was to get the truth out as he walked purposely toward the pub to find Hermione and Rita Skeeter.


	10. Quidditch and Article

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Sorry about the late update, but the site didn't let me post anything for a while and I decided on just holding off on putting up a chapter until that was working better. **

**Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Ten

Quidditch and Article

"So I take it things didn't work out so well between you and Cho," Hermione said sympathetically when they were at the Great Hall later that day, Harry had barely ate anything and his head was now resting on the Gryffindor table.

"No," Harry sighed, though he wasn't sure if that was the reason why he was feeling so miserably or if it was the constant talk about a day he would rather forget. "I'm not going to be seeing Cho anymore."

"I'm sorry," Hermione sighed and he sat up and gave her the best glare he was capable of right now.

"No you're not, you never thought I should go out with Cho in the first place," Harry huffed.

"That doesn't mean that I would ever want you in pain," Hermione said simply and her tone was sad.

"I know," Harry bowed his head, he wished that she wouldn't be so sympathetic because it was nicer feeling angry that miserable.

"Hey," Ron said then, walking up to them, he was covered in mud and grim and he was looking tired.

"How did the practice go?" Hermione asked tentatively.

"It was horrible," Ron groaned, sitting down next to Harry as he pulled food towards him without much enthusiasm, which wasn't like him at all.

"I'm sure it wasn't that bad," Hermione said trying to cheer him up.

"No, he was right, it was horrible," Ginny said, sitting next to Hermione, she was just as messy as Ron was. "Though the good news is Ron isn't as hopeless as he was before."

"Hmph," Ron huffed, glaring at his sister.

"I'm sure you did a lot better," Hermione said, looking at Ron as sincerely as she could.

"Whatever," Ron said with a shrugged, for if there was something that Hermione didn't know much about, it was Quidditch … and chess.

"You know I wish you won't say things like that Ginny," Hermione said to her friend in a harsh whisper when Ron had gotten up to leave.

"What, I said he was getting better," Ginny shrugged.

"You said he wasn't as hopeless … I don't think that's helping with his confidence," Hermione glared at her friend.

"He knew I was joking," Ginny rolled her eyes and then got up to leave as well.

The next week went by without much difference, and Hermione watched as Ron seemed to succumb more and more to the taunts of the Slytherins and others about his Keeper abilities. He seemed to become more and more depress and Ginny had confirmed that he seemed to be getting worst after ever practice. She had to cheer him up, telling him that he would be fine, but he didn't seemed to be listening to her at all. Finally, on Friday the night before the game, she had enough and she confronted him about this. She had walked over to him, he was sitting on the chair that was facing the fire and he was looking miserable and nervous about the up incoming game.

"Ron, what's the matter?" she asked, knowing of course what the answer was.

"Nothing," Ron muttered not talking his eyes off the fire.

"You're worried about the game, aren't you?" she supplied.

"Yeah," he answered simply.

She stepped in front of him then, and kneeled so their eyes would met. Then she said in her most sincere voice, "I know that you're going to do well, you don't have to worry."

"Yeah," he answered and he knew he just dismissed that like he did every time she said that. She narrowed her eyes dangerously, a look that he had seen many times before, though not as much since they have been dating.

"Why do you keep doing that Ronald?" she huffed, "You act as if I don't know what I'm talking about!"

"Argh," Ron groaned, he didn't need this right now, can't she see that he was already worked up enough without picking a fight with him. Fighting might have been a good way to relieve tension in the past, but he didn't want to fight anymore. He didn't want to say something that he would regret and jeopardize everything they have. "Just leave me alone Hermione, I don't want to fight!"

"And you think I want to fight!" Hermione huffed, "I don't! I just want you to listen to me!"

"Well forgive me if I don't take confidence in your assurance that I'd do good," Ron glared at her. "You don't know anything about Quidditch."

"I don't need to know anything about Quidditch to know you're going to do well tomorrow!" Hermione responded forcefully. "You made the team didn't you … which means you have the skill to play. If you just believe you can do it Ronald, and I know you can."

Ron didn't say anything to that for a long time, but his expression changed from angry to depress and he held his face in his hands. "That's just it Hermione … I don't believe it. I can't seem to save anything anymore. Even easy shots … I just forget everything I know when I'm up there … and I can hear that stupid song in my ears even at practice … I don't know what I was thinking when I joined the team."

"You were thinking that you loved this game and that you can do it," Hermione said softly, grabbing his hand supportively. "You do know what to do, you most have done it when you made the team in the first place. It must be even more difficult to remember that in a game, but Ron, I know you have great instincts. You've used them plenty of times when we've faced dangerous situations …"

"That's different, our lived depended on it then," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Which means it should be easier to remember this," Hermione pointed out.

"What if I make a fool out of myself?" Ron asked miserable.

Hermione didn't know what to say to that so she just kissed him on the cheek and said, "I'll still be here. And I'll still be telling that you could do this."

Ron raised eyebrow at her, looking happier for a second before his eyes grew sad again, "what if I really am rubbish, even when I try my hardest? What if I'm not as good as you think I am?"

Hermione looked at him, "are we still talking about Quidditch?"

Ron shifted in his sit, feeling very uncomfortable. He didn't really know where this came from, but he had a feeling it was fueled by his inability to stop any of the goals in the last practice. The confidence that he had gain since he had been with Hermione seemed to be wavering. He was sure of his feeling for her but he wasn't sure if he could ever really lead a life that she seemed to think he could make.

"You don't have to be a star in Quidditch or in anything else for me," Hermione said, looking into his eyes so he knows she was telling the truth. "Honestly Ron, as long as you're trying your hardest and you're happy with whatever you're doing, I'll be proud of you. But that means you have to believe in yourself, Ronald. As long as you do that, I know you can do what you want."

"You really think that?" Ron asked, feeling that just looking at her was filling him with confidence. He was awed that just a few words could make him feel this much better about everything.

"Of course I do," Hermione said firmly, the knowing smiling playing at the edge of her lips and Ron leaned in cupping her face.

"Thanks," Ron said sincerely, before he kissed her.

O

"I still can't believe it," Fred said shaking his head, most of the Gryffindor's were crowded in the common room seeming to talk a once, but Fred's voice could be heard over everything. "I thought for sure you were going to lose it once the game started … what happened to you Ron?"

"Obviously his girlfriend told him that there wouldn't be any more snogging unless he played better," George said seriously, "that's always a great inspiration for us guys."

"That's not it at all," Ron rolled his eyes at his brothers, he could never tell them that the reason that he played the best bloody game of his life was because he listened to what Hermione had said the other day and actually believed in his own ability. Sure, this morning before the game he was still nervous, but it had different than it was the night before. He didn't feel that sicking feeling that he was going to fail, he just felt worried and excited.

When the game had actually started he was able to calm the nerves and he let everything go like he did when he played against his brothers at the Burrow. His heart pounded in his chest when the first attack came, and his stomach quench, but his mind was cleared. He was able to read the movements of the Chaser and reacted quickly, using both his knowledge and his instincts and blocked the right post, deflecting the Quaffle to Katie, who raced down the pitch and the Gryffindor's were able to score off of that ran. And that was it. He had done it once and he knew that he would be able to do it again.

"He just gain some confidence in himself," Hermione said proudly which snapped Ron out of his thoughts of the game, but he just beamed at her as he leaned in to kiss her.

"Hm … I still think it had something to do with snogging," George muttered, but Ron couldn't really think about that at the moment.

On the other side of the room Harry walked over to Ginny and said, "you did really well Ginny … that was a good catch."

"Thanks," Ginny said, "though I think I got lucky, Summerby had a cold."

"You're right, I'm sure I would have got the snitch a lot sooner," Harry agreed with that.

"Git!" Ginny glared at him.

"Hey, you know it's true," Harry smirked at her.

"Doesn't mean you should say it," Ginny pouted this time and Harry chuckled.

"You still played brilliantly," Harry said honestly, "I don't think anyone, besides myself of course, could have done it better."

"Thanks Harry," Ginny said shaking her head at him, they had started teasing each other more, and she loved that they were getting closer, but it still hurt that even without Cho in the picture they hadn't gone farther than just friends. She also didn't like that every time he starts to enjoy her company he seems to get sad and close off. She didn't know what his problem was, but it was starting to annoy her. Her annoyance with him didn't stop them from sitting next to each other while the celebration went on and laugh about the game and other wise enjoyed the party.

O

When the issue of the Quibbler with his interview came out Harry felt proud of the visible difference that it seemed to make in the school. People were now more inclined to believe that he was telling the truth and Umbridge was so angry by what he did that she put him in detention, but he knew it was worth it. It was good knowing that he could get to her this much, proving that she didn't have control over everything. The best bit about this though, was that Seamus had come up to him and told Harry that he believe him. The tension in the boy's fifth year dormitory seemed to disappear immediately after that.

Most of the other professors seemed to appreciate his efforts, awarding him points for simple task among other things but Snape seemed to be angry. Harry supposed this was because of his image as a Death Eater, it was bad that this article was out there. However, he didn't expect McGonagall to be as upset as she seemed and after the class was over she asked Harry to stay behind.

"I heard that you got another detention," McGonagall said after the last student had left the room and Harry only remembered then that she now knew what happened in his detention and how against it she was. He didn't know what to say to her, but he could tell that she was thinking about talking to Umbridge about this, which was something he didn't want.

"I'll be okay," Harry said, "please don't get involved with this, it will only make things worse."

"Potter, this is not something I can ignore," McGonagall said sternly. "She is misusing her power and is torturing a student!"

"It won't help … if you say something, I know it won't help and it will only put you on her list," Harry said with a sigh, and when McGonagall glared at him he realized that he probably pick the worst reasons to discourage her. She didn't believe in doing nothing and she didn't care what Umbridge tried to do to her. "What would happen if you did comfort her about her method of detention?"

"It would at least stop her from making you cut your own hand open," McGonagall said hotly, though was obviously trying to control her temper. "It might even result in her being removed from Hogwarts."

"You don't believe that any more than I do," Harry said calmly. "She would ask for proof and tell everyone that I cut my own hand up or something. I bet she'll even have Fudge believing that I actually would do that." McGonagall made to interrupt him but he held up his hand, "Professor, we all need to be careful. We have to remember to keep our head down and our temper under control."

McGonagall was now looking at him with narrowed eyes, she remembered just like he did, when she had told him similar things to him at the beginning of the school year. He was right, and though she didn't like this, it was best for everyone that she allowed the detention to go as it had been. She hated that, she hated that the boy would have to go through that and she had to let it happen. "Just try not to get anymore detention in the future, okay Potter."

"I'll try," Harry smiled at her weakly before leaving the room.

The detention with Umbridge past just as it had the first two weeks, he didn't say anything to her as he wrote with the blood quill, cutting the message _'I must not tell lies'_ into the back of his hand. It still stung, but it didn't bother him that much this time, because at least this time he had done something that, well didn't make him deserve this but at least it was something to be proud of. When he got back to the common room Ginny was there waiting for him, holding the potion he knew would make his hand feel better, but would do nothing to heal the scar that was permanently scratched into his hand.

"Here," Ginny said, handing him the potion, seeming to stop herself from asking him about the detention. "Hermione said that this will help you."

"Thanks," Harry smiled at her, he liked that she knew him well enough not to ask about things that he didn't want to talk about. "Where is Hermione … and Ron, I thought they would have been here."

"Oh," Ginny said sadly, "I'm sorry to disappoint you by being the one to stay up waiting here."

"That's not what I mean," Harry said annoyed untile she gave him that smile that he associated with mischief and hemade a face at her. He felt the tension that had been building for the last few hours alone with Umbridge and the blood quill, start to flow off him.

"I think they went to bed," Ginny said answering his question for real this time.

"Hm," Harry said, thinking it was odd that his friends would do that when they knew what his detention was like, but he had a feeling it had something to do with allowing him to be alone with Ginny. Though they hadn't outright said it to him, he knew that they both wanted him to get over whatever his precautions are, and just asking Ginny out already.

"You don't have to worry about me Harry, I'm not going to put the moves on you," Ginny said sitting next to him, and he looked at her sheepishly. He didn't realize that it was that easy for her to see what he was thinking. "I just wanted to make sure you were feeling okay."

"Well this helps," Harry said holding up his hands, one that was in the potion and the other was holding the container. He found it odd that after just a few words from her, that he was no longer thinking about this being some kind of set up and just enjoyed her company. He found it odd that the longer he talked to her, the easier it was for him to tell her things that he only would have told two other people before.

He hadn't even realized that they had stayed up so late, it was nearly three in the morning before he went to bed. He did, however, noticed the look of disappointed in her eyes when he got up abruptly and said goodnight to her. He had found that he had a longing to just lean over a kiss her that was stronger than anything he ever had before, but he didn't want to do anything like that rashly … not now when he was still confused about what he was feeling.


	11. Relationship Issues

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Eleven

Relationship Issues

"Hey Harry, can you wait a minute," Ron asked, several weeks later. A lot of things happened in those weeks, the most notable was the fact that Umbridge had sacked Trelawney, had even tried to throw her out of the school, but Dumbledore had stepped in and allowed her to say. Not to mention he got Firenze, the centaur to take Trelawney's place as the new Divination Professor.

However, this wasn't what was on Ron's mind right now when he looked at his best friend with a grimace. Harry could tell he was in trouble and he thought he knew what it was about. "Er … sure …"

"Look, I know there's a lot between us, and I don't want you to take this the wrong way," Ron started feeling awkward about this conversation, but he knew he had to say it. He couldn't take what has been happened in silence any longer. "But I wanted you to stop messing with my sister!"

"What?" Harry said looking confused, and then angry, "I'm not messing with your sister … We're not even dating …"

"I know! That's the problem!" Ron groaned.

"You want me to date your sister?" Harry asked, trying to bid for time, he didn't understand what was wrong with him, he just couldn't seemed to allow himself to even try take the next step with Ginny. In fact he was actively stopping himself for doing anything with her.

"No way," Ron answered honestly, "it's bloody awkward … I'm already in the middle of this mess and you're not even dating, but everyone knows that you're going to get together eventually, I don't know why you're beating around the bush."

Harry didn't say anything, but he felt chill go down the pit of his stomach at Ron's words. "Supposed to be together," he repeated with a humorless laugh. "So that's it … I don't have a choice anymore?"

"Are you trying to say that there's something wrong with my sister?" Ron asked hotly and Harry rolled his eyes.

"Of course not … that's not what this is about," Harry groaned in frustration. "You wouldn't understand you were already in love with Hermione … you've liked her for ages. I never even looked at Ginny that way before and now all of a sudden she's the love of my bloody life. How the hell am I supposed to deal with that?"

Ron didn't say anything, never before had he talked to Harry about feelings. Actually he avoided talking about feeling with anyone if he could help it, but he couldn't stand what had been going on with Ginny since they had read the books. "I don't know mate, but chatting up Ginny and then backing off isn't right."

Harry, who was glaring at Ron a second ago, bowed his head into his hands. Ron was right, he hadn't been fair to Ginny over the last few weeks. He had talked to her everyday, sometimes it would be just the two of them and he would feel so comfortable. He didn't feel nervous around her, their conversations never felt force and he found that he wanted to spend more and more time with her. He also found that she made his insides squirm in all the right ways, made his feel giddy and happy for no other reason than that she was smiling at him.

"Is it really that bad … being told who you were supposed to be with?" Ron asked, breaking Harry from his thoughts.

"How would you have felt if you read this book before you liked Hermione the way you do?" Harry asked in return, not sure how he she answer Ron's real question. It was the one that he had been asking himself this whole time and it couldn't seemed to find an answer to it.

"Hm, that's hard," Ron said thoughtfully, "that would have to have been the summer before third year."

"You liked her all the way back then?" Harry gasped.

"Er … I didn't know it … not until she went out with the ruddy pumpkinhead …" Ron said uncomfortably, "but, well … ever since I've noticed girls …" he shrugged not finishing the sentence.

"You're lucky," Harry sighed.

"I know," Ron smiled, before he sat down on his bed, looking at Harry, who was on his own bed. "Do you think you would have felt better if you didn't read that last chapter? You know the one with the kids and all that stuff."

Harry again ignored Ron's questioned and directed back at him, this time before Ron was looking worried. "Do you?"

Ron grimaced, but said, "sort of. It's a lot to live up to isn't it?"

"Yeah," Harry agreed.

"Is that the reason you so reluctant to approaching Ginny?" Ron asked again, though in different words and Harry was sure that his friend wasn't going to let him deflect the subject again.

"Sort of," Harry answered minimally and Ron glared at him.

"Well I wish that part wasn't in the stupid book!" Ron huffed annoyed at his best friend's lack of response.

"I don't," Harry sighed, not looking at Ron this time. "Before we read that I didn't really understand that I could actually have a normal life. If the book had ended with the defeat of Voldemort … well I would have known that I could survive, but the last chapter showed that I can actually have a life … have a future … a family. I never thought I would have that.

"Before … whenever I thought about family, it was always past tense," Harry continued, still talking to the floor. "My family was dead and though I've been gathering people around me that was like a family … it wasn't the same because there was no one out there that I was related to. Now though. I know I can have a real family. And I want that … I want that so badly it's all I can effing think about now."

"Then why are you staying away from Gin?" Ron asked confused.

"Because how can I be with her if what I want most is the family I saw in the future?" Harry groaned in frustration. "How is that fair to her?"

Ron couldn't say anything to that he just looked at Harry, trying to think of anything to say, but he couldn't come up with anything. Harry was looking at his friend then, hoping Ron could possible say something that would make it all right, but there was nothing there. He got up to go, but before he was able to turn the handle Ron did speak.

"Harry … have you told her this?" Ron asked.

"Not all of it," Harry admitted.

"You might want to," Ron said, "she might have the answer that I don't."

"That would be nice," Harry sighed, and then left the room feeling miserable and sure that he wouldn't be able to bring this up with Ginny.

The night however, he found out that he didn't have much choice in that matter. Ginny was sitting next to him and though he tried not to act differently, she seemed to notice that something had happened.

"Is something the matter?" Ginny asked when they were alone, Harry had tried to leave many times before it came to this, but one way or the other he was forced to stay there. He was sure that Ron and Hermione had made some kind of plan for this but he couldn't prove it.

"No …" Harry started to say but she raised an eyebrow at that. "Fine, I just had a little chat with Ron …" he found himself admitted, knowing that she wasn't going to buy his lie.

Ginny still looked confused before her eyes went wiped, "about me?"

"Yep."

"I'm going to kill him," Ginny huffed angrily. She hated it whenever her brother who step in and say something on her behalf.

"He only did it because he was worried about you," Harry said, he didn't want Ron to get in trouble, but he was sure that his words didn't really help that cause … judging by her scowled he thought that it probably hurt them.

"That doesn't mean he has the right to get involve in our …" Ginny started to say angrily but paused there because she didn't know what she would call what she had with Harry. It was more than just friendship. The closeness she had with him now made her feel unbelievably warm whenever she thought of it. However, the fact that he always puts up that last guard, that he would pull from her just at the exact moment that she thinks, maybe this time it will be different, made her hurt every time. She knew that she was getting closer and closer to her breaking point, she couldn't take this lack of progress much longer, but it was impossible to turn away from him when she was this close to actually having all she ever wanted.

"He reckons that I should tell you the reason why I feel so confused," Harry said softly and she looked up at him and saw that his green eyes were heartbreakingly sad as he watched her reactions to her own thoughts. "I wasn't going to say anything …. but maybe he was right."

"I thought you told me the reason?" Ginny said at a lost for what to say now.

"Not the real reason," Harry said.

"Are you going to tell me now?" Ginny asked when he didn't say anything for a long time.

"I want the future the book said I would have with you," Harry said in a whisper that she had to struggle to hear.

"I want that too," Ginny admitted but he was shaking his head and she was sure that she had missed the point he was trying to make.

"You don't get it," Harry said miserably and looked at her in the eyes, "every time that I get close to you I can see that future … I can see the promise of having a family and being happy …"

"Well I can see how that would be terrifying," Ginny said looking at him confused, none of what he was saying was bad, so why was he using this as an example of why he didn't want her.

"I want the future … not you," Harry said in frustration that she wasn't understanding him, but as soon as the words were out of his mouth he knew they were wrong. He knew they weren't true.

Ginny felt as if her whole being went numb when she heard that. He didn't want her at all … he just wanted to have a family. She should have known better … that it was something like this. Why would he want her after all? But damnit, why did he have to make her think that he could like her?

"I didn't mean it like that," Harry said hesitantly as he noticed the pain in her expression. "It's not that I don't like you, I do. I'm just terrified that if I start anything with your right now it would be for all the wrong reasons."

Ginny looked at him, trying to make sense of what he was saying. She couldn't get over what he had said about not wanting her but she felt that he was trying to say something now. He was terrified of starting anything with her, not because he didn't like her, but because he thought he would only be doing it to have the future they had all read about.

"Do you like me Harry?" she asked, she needed him to answer some of her question, because right now what he was saying was so mixed up she couldn't make sense of it.

"Yes," Harry answered.

"Do you fine be attractive?"

"Yes."

"Do you think about me when I'm not around?"

He paused before nodding his head. "All the time."

"Do you like spending time with me?"

"Yes."

"Do you like being alone with me?"

"Yes."

Ginny was gaining more confidence with every question she asked, seeing as he answered them all positively, but she knew this next question was important. "Do you ever feel like kissing me?"

Harry paused again, he wasn't sure if he should answer that or not, but felt that he should be honest. "Yes."

"Is that why you always seemed to leave abruptly?"

"Yeah," Harry sighed his answered. "I'm sorry … I just don't know what I should do."

"Maybe you should stop thinking so bloody much!" Ginny huffed and Harry was caught off guard by her sudden angry.

"What …?"

"Stop worrying about the future and just think about how you're feeling now!" Ginny stated.

"But ... I don't know what I'm feeling now?" Harry argued.

"Sure you do … you just told me how you were feeling," Ginny pointed out.

"But …" Harry said looking confused. "I … I wouldn't have felt this way if it wasn't for the book?" he said in a confused tone, not sure if he believed this himself.

"So you're telling me that I was suddenly attractive right after the book said I was?" Ginny questioned harshly. "There's no possible way that I could have been appealing to you if it wasn't for that."

"No … I don't mean that," Harry said annoyed, she was putting words in his mouth.

"You just never would have looked at me if the book didn't point it out?"

"Well … I probably would have …"

"Then I don't get what you're problem is!" Ginny throw her arms up in annoyance.

"I …" Harry said trying to figure out what had just happened. He was sure that his reason was valid, but it seemed weaker now somehow. "I want to make sure I'm not forcing my feelings for you?"

Ginny's annoyance evaporated when he said that and she sat down next to him. "I appreciate that Harry, I really do, but if you keep telling yourself that the only reason you like me is that you saw the future you're never going to get over that. Just stop thinking about that so much and you just might find that you already have feeling for me. I'm not asking you to fall in love with me right now … I just asking for you to let yourself feel."

"I'll try," Harry said, feeling more hopeful about this, but at the same time not sure what to do now.

"Oh, and one more thing," Ginny said, and the look in her eyes made him shiver at how intense they were. And she closed in to him and kissed him before she could stop herself. As their lips met she felt all of her pain and angry melt away and she wanted nothing else but to stay like that, but she forced herself to pull away. "I thought you might need a little incentive."

Harry couldn't say anything to her as she moved away from him. All the worry and suffering he has been going through seemed to have vanished as soon as her lips touched his. He could feel them resurfacing now that she was walking away from him, but he pushed that aside, thinking about what she had said. Maybe she was right, and he didn't have to place so much value on the books future. He didn't have to suddenly be in love with right now … it wasn't all or nothing. He could let the feelings that were building in him grow and see where that would lead him.

Of course he will never be able to get the knowledge of the future out of his head, he'll always want that, but it didn't have to be a bad thing. It didn't have to mean that he has to force himself to like her, after all she probably never would marry him in the first place if he wasn't really in love with her.

"Ginny," he said, she was now standing by the stairs to the girl's dormitory and she was about to go up them, but she turned around to face him. "I think you might be right."

"It's been known to happen," Ginny smiled as Harry started to walk towards her.

He wasn't sure what was going to happen tomorrow or even farther in the future, but he knew it would be a mistake to let her go right now. When he reached her though, he had no idea what he was going to do or say and found himself reacting. He leaned down to kiss her, hardly more than a peck on the lips but it felt so natural to him that he wondered why he had been stopping himself for doing this for so long. "Goodnight Ginny."

"Goodnight," she repeated, giving him a smile that he had never seen before, but was sure he wanted to see again, before turning around and going up to her room.

**A/N: I know some of you didn't want this to happen so quickly and others thought this should have happen sooner, but this is when I saw something happening. I must admit that I'm probably not going to concentrating on the Harry/Ginny relationship that much because there other a lot of things that have I need to get to.**


	12. Sneak

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: I'm sorry but I'm going to on Vacation this coming week and I won't have a chapter next weekend, but I will post one in two weeks. **

**Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twelve

Sneak

Harry wasn't sure what he expected to happen after he kissed Ginny but not much was different than it had been for the last few weeks. Mostly they just hanged out in the common room whenever they could with Ron and Hermione, and sometimes other people. Harry was grateful that he no longer felt the pressure of trying to sort out his feelings and just let things work out naturally.

Now all he had to worry about was what was coming in the future what he could do to prepare for it. He had been working hard on his lessons for the DA, teaching everyone curses that he thought would be useful to him. Though he had promised another dueling tournament in March, he put it off a little longer because he thought it would be best to teaching everyone the Patronus Charm. He knew this was going to be a difficult one for everyone to learn, but he also had seen in the book how useful it was that the DA had learned this.

The first lesson on the Patronus he decided that they would worked on the Charm, making sure that everyone knew how to do the spell first. He wanted to show them how important it was to pick a happy memory that would be enough to produce a Patronus. Harry was pleased to see that halfway through the lesson that almost everyone was able to at least conjure the smokey substance and some even were able to get an actually Patronus to appear. He had advised everyone that was having trouble, to try and think of a happier memory, knowing that if they were having trouble without a Dementor around it definitely wouldn't work when they were there. Harry had to smile when things improved after his advise.

However, when he informed everyone at the end of that lesson that the next time they were going to be trying the spell with a Dementor … or more like a boggart in the shape of a Dementor, everyone was nervous again. He assured them that this was the only way to really see how well their Patronus was, but that didn't seemed to make them relax that much.

"We really should be going," Hermione said, it was about ten minutes before the DA meeting with the boggart and she obviously looked nervous about it.

"Don't be nervous, Mione," Ron said picking up on her nerves easily. "At least you've made a Patronus … all I've got so far is smoke."

"That's actually surprising to me," Harry said, "I thought you would have had a lot of happy memories to choice from. What is your memory anyway?"

Ron grimaced, obviously not wanting to be put on the spot. "I was thinking about our last Quidditch game."

"Really?" Hermione questioned with a raised eyebrow, the annoyance clear in her voice. "That's your happiest memory?"

"Well … I've never had that before … people cheering for me," Ron said looking perplexed about why she looked so upset. "Why? What do you think about?"

Hermione shot him an angry look but before she could say anything, Ginny punched him in the arm, "you're such a git. Do you really like Quidditch more than your girlfriend."

"What? Of course not," Ron his eyes moving to Hermione, who seemed to be glaring at Ginny now, but obviously still upset with him. "I just … er … I never thought about thinking about that … it seemed too … er … personal …"

"Well you might want to thinking about using it," Harry said, seeing the danger that was threatening to erupt. "The more personal, the stronger the memory is. At least it was for me."

"Yeah … okay," Ron said, looking at Hermione warily, she was still looking annoyed but he could tell that she was no longer angry. At least he hoped she wasn't. Before he could say anything more there was a pop and Dobby the house elf was standing in front of them, looking anxious.

O

Draco had been wondering when something like this was going to happen. Sure, after reading the book about Saint Potter's life he realized that backing You-Know-Who wasn't the best thing. Okay, so the truth was that if he told You-Know-Who … or more likely his dad, about everything he read the war would go differently and the dark side would probably win. However, even knowing that his family would probably get a good position that future wasn't that pleasing to him. He didn't think he would like any world that You-Know-Who was in charge of.

So he had acted like he hadn't learned anything. He didn't say anything to his parents. He hadn't told anyone anything about spending almost three days with all the goody toe shoes. Actually he basically pretend that none of that happened and he lived like he normally would. Let Potter worry about what to do to change the future, he wasn't really needed. Besides, if he actually tried to do something he would probably get killed or in trouble.

Now, however, he was face with an actually decision. He could either do something to help the stupid idiots that were forming an illegal club of some sort or he could just stay quite. He knew that he had no obligation to help them. And hell, Potter might be kicked out of Hogwarts! That thought alone should have made his choice easy. So why did he want to help Potter out?

Ah! So that he can use this against Potter later! That's it! Yeah, it couldn't hurt having Potter owe him one. This didn't mean that he cared about Potter and his little followers.

Now the only probably he had was figuring out how to tell Potter this without being seen. Right now, he was still in the presence of frog face, listening to her telling them about a secret meeting with Potter and other students on the seventh floor, which he now knew was in the Room of Requirement. She wanted him and the other Slytherins in the room to wait thirty minutes before they went up to the seventh floor and capture as many of these students as possible. Obviously she wanted to catch them in the act.

He knew he could get there before the others, but obviously not in enough time to do any good for Potter. Then he remembered something that made him grimace. He left the room with ten minutes left to spare and called out, "Dobby!"

O

"WHAT?" Harry exclaimed after Dobby told him that Umbridge knew about the DA meeting and as going to come after him.

"It's true, Master Draco told me!" Dobby said, his eyes pleading Harry to believe him.

"Malfoy!" Ron scoffed. "As if the ferret would ever warn us!"

"Ron, he read the book with us too," Hermione said and he rolled his eyes.

"That's not important," Harry cut them off before they started arguing. "We've got to tell everyone not to go to the meeting! We have to take this seriously even if Malfoy might be lying."

"True … I'll tell everyone," Hermione said reaching into her pocket and pulling out her DA coin.

"Master Draco said that someone betrayed you," Dobby warned.

"He's right, it might not be a good thing to use the coin if Umbridge has the traitors!" Ron said, he still wasn't sure if he believe that Malfoy would actually help them, but Harry asked him to act as if it was true, and this was the best advise he had. "We should tell everyone in person."

"Argh," Harry groaned, pulled out his map and looked for everyone. Luckily it was still a few minutes before the meeting and almost everyone was still in their common rooms. Ron when off to tell the Hufflepuffs, it being the farther common room away and he was the fastest. Ginny went to tell the Ravenclaws that were still near the common room and Hermione went to the library to tell everyone that was in there. Harry himself went back to their common room to warn the Gryffindor's about the danger. He was glad when he got to everyone before they left, and then he sat in one of the chairs, took out his map and saw everyone else was warning the others. He sighed in relief when he noticed that everyone was coming back to their common room.

At this point, knowing that everyone was safe he looked to see if he could find out who had betrayed them. He grimace, Marietta Edgecombe was in the Headmasters offices, along with Dumbledore, McGonagall, Kingley, Percy, a man name Dawlish, and Fudge. He saw that Umbridge was heading for the Room of Requirement along with some of the Slytherins, including Draco. Harry wasn't really sure what was going to happen next, but he watched the dots stand by the room for ten minutes before they quickly headed towards the Headmaster offices. Everyone stayed in there for almost an hour after that and he could only imagine what was being said, before all of the Ministry people left in what he was sure a disappointed way.

Ron, Hermione and Ginny had all gotten back long before the end of this, and they all speculated what was happening along with most of the other members of the DA (that were in Gryffindor). At this point, Harry got up with a sigh. "I'm sorry guys, but we're probably not going to be able to have a meeting for a while."

"Why not?" Dennis asked looking disappointed. After all, thanks to the DA he was the best in his year at Defense, having learned things for beyond a second year level.

"Because the stupid toad is going to be watching us even closer now," Ron explain bitterly.

"We don't really know that … we have no idea what happened in that meeting," Colin pointed out hopefully. "Dumbledore might have convinced them that …" he stopped there because he really had no idea what had been said and couldn't guess.

"That's true, but Ron's right," Harry said. "It doesn't matter whatever Dumbledore said, Umbridge is going to be watching us … mostly me I would think … in case something suspicious happens."

"I don't understand why we're not already in trouble," Angelina said with a grimace. "You said that _Edgecombe_," she hissed the name bitterly, "ratted us out. Why didn't Umbridge come up here and try to expel us all."

"I'm not sure how much Edgecombe actually could have said before the jinx took effect," Hermione said and everyone looked at her surprised (everyone but Ron and Harry that is, they were just beaming at her).

"Jinx?" George questioned, with an obvious upbeat tone to his voice. "Do tell Mione!"

"There's not much to tell really," Hermione shrugged. "I put a jinx on the paper we all signed at our first meeting in the Hog's Head."

"Brilliant!" the twins beamed at her.

"You did what?" Angelina said.

"Why didn't you tell us?" Alicia demanded.

"I thought it would be best if you didn't know," Hermione said.

"But if Edgecombe knew that their was a jinx on the paper, she might never have ratter us out," Dean pointed out. "By the way, what was the jinx?" he added almost afraid to ask, Hermione was rather good with just about everything she did after all.

"That horrible blotches will write the word 'sneak' across her face," Hermione said indifferently, "it will become more colorful and painful the longer that she talks about the DA."

"Ew," Lavender said making a face. "That's disgusting."

"How long does the word stay on there?" Fred questioned, with an raised eyebrow. That sounded like a good idea for a prank item to him. Instant humiliation. Of course he wouldn't what his product to last more than a few hours … maybe a day …

"That depends too on how much she says," Hermione said. "It will take a least a few months though."

"Wow," George whistled. "You don't take your hexes lightly, do you Mione?"

"You should remembered that Ron," Ginny teased her brother.

"Whatever," Ron rolled his eyes, he was too proud of Hermione's jinx abilities at the moment to care about what his sister was saying.

"Anyway, Dean, I did think about telling everyone about the jinx, but decided that it would be best this way," Hermione frowning, looking like she was second guessing herself now that everything had happened the way it did. "I thought that if someone actually made up their mind to betray us even after knowing about the jinx that nothing would have stopped them from saying every little detail. However, if they were surprised by the jinx … it might make them close off once they realize what was happening."

"Either way, we can't do anything about this now," Harry said, cutting off any farther discussion about this. "I still don't think it will be safe for us to have a meeting in the near future. Of course I'll let you know if that has change at any point in time, but it's too risky to do anything now."

"And here I thought you were the king of doing risky things," Fred teased.

Harry rolled his eyes, but he wasn't going to change his mind. He said goodnight to everyone, despite the fact that it was still before nine at night, and went up to his dorm room. He heard Ron telling the other fifth year boys to hold off going up for a little while to give him time to think and he was grateful. Right now, what he really needed to do was talk to Sirius, and that would be easier if the room was quite. As soon as he was upstairs he reach under his pillow and pulled out the mirror and called out Sirius name.

"What took you so long?" was the questioned that he was faced with as Sirius's face moved into the surface of the mirror. "So someone betrayed you, ah? Argh I …"

"What?" Harry gasped, cutting off Sirius rant because of his shock. "How did you know that?"

"Percy got her ten minutes ago," Sirius said. "Told us about a girl going to Toadface and telling her about the DA."

"I suppose I should have guess something like that would have happened," Harry said reasonably, but he was too anxious to care about that. "What happened after Umbridge got back to Dumbledore's office and realized that we weren't there?"

"No, first you're going to tell me why you weren't there!" Sirius said. "You were planning on having a meeting, weren't you?"

"Yeah, but Dobby came and told us about Umbridge," Harry said. "After Malfoy had told him."

Sirius jaw dropped. "Seriously!"

Harry had to chuckle at his expression. "Yeah … I really think he saved us."

"Which means you're going to have to owe the git in the future," Sirius grimaced.

"Whatever," Harry rolled his eyes. "It was still good of him to help us. But you're right. It's a little annoying too. I'm trying not to think about that too much right now."

"I don't blame you," Sirius said, "hold on a second, I'm going to let Percy explain what happened in Dumbledore's office … mostly because I don't really know what happened, he was in the middle of his explanation when you called."

"Okay," Harry said and Sirius's face disappeared and a few moments later Percy's was there.

"Hello Harry," Percy said in a brisk voice. "You certainly cause us a lot of trouble today."

"Sorry," Harry sighed.

Percy shrugged, "we all understand how important it was for you to continue to run the DA, Harry."

"So what happened?" Harry questioned.

"When I got to Dumbledore's office with Fudge, Kingley and Dawlish, one Marietta Edgecombe, was sitting in the corner of the room with her head bow," Percy went straight the explanation. "We had been informed that you, Harry, had started an illegal club and I must say Fudge was looking forward to expelling you."

"I'm glad to hear that," Harry grimaced.

"Well if you saw Fudge'd face when he realized that wasn't going to happen you might have like it," Percy said, giving an uncommon smirk. "He because quite flustered."

"That almost makes me wish that I was there," Harry smiled.

"I think it's a good thing that you weren't there," Percy said. "Dumbledore was basically able to run things as soon as Umbridge came back empty handed. It turned out that Edgecombe had only mentioned you and that their was a meeting …"

"How bad was jinx?" Harry questioned.

"It looked pretty bad," Percy admitted and he heard Sirius asked about the jinx, but evidently Percy ignored him. "It stopped her before she could have said anything detrimental … though, then again that was only because no one was caught. Dumbledore was able to convince them that because there was no proof, there was nothing that could be done. Umbridge tried to argue that the jinx on Edgecombe was enough proof, but McGonagall said that it could easily have been some kind of prank.

"Fudge tried to demand that you be expelled away, trying to through his weight around, but again Dumbledore just reminded him that he had no jurisdiction here. And that was it." Percy shrugged. "Everyone from the Ministry left after that disappointed. Well obviously Kingley and myself weren't really disappoint, but we had to act that way. I came here after I was done, because we thought that you might contact Sirius and here we are."

"So, everything is okay," Harry said. "I'm not going to get into any trouble right."

"As of now, No." Percy said. "But it would be best not to continue the DA meetings for the time being."

"I've already told everyone in Gryffindor that," Harry said.

"Good," Percy smiled at him.

"Do you think there will be any chance that we could start the meetings again?" Harry questioned hopeful but he saw in Percy's expression that his worst fears were confirmed.

"Not anytime soon," Percy shook his head. "And honestly it might not be able to happen until after Umbridge is gone."

"I was afraid you were going to say that," Harry sighed. "Thanks Percy for telling me what happened."

"You're welcome Harry," Percy said, and then handed the mirror back to Sirius and Harry talked to his godfather for a long time after that.

**A/N: I just wanted to say that at first I did think that I was going to have Dumbledore leave Hogwarts in this story like he had in the book, but I always wanted Draco to help Harry out in with this and it didn't seem like it would have had as much impack if things didn't turn our better. I also added the part where it shows Draco's thought process a little becaue I know some of you wanted to him in this story. I'm still not really sure what I'm going to do with him in this story but now that he's help once, I might be able to add him in some more ... but like I said, I don't really know yet. **


	13. Time Passes

******Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirteen

Time Passes

There was a noticeable difference in the atmosphere of Hogwarts the next day. Umbridge was definitely upset that she had not succeeded in capturing Harry and she was taking out her anger by showing up to every single one of Harry's classes, using her position as High Inquisitor to monitor the professors. She would sit just behind Harry and he could feel her eyes on his back the whole time. Harry had to admit this was rather annoying, though it did make Divination his new favorite class. For some reason, Umbridge didn't want to go anywhere near Firenze. Harry thought that was odd because he was sure that Umbridge would want to get rid of him since he was a centaur. However, Harry wasn't about to question it now, especially since he was able to have a few toad free hours. He did have to admit that the first time that Umbridge showed up in McGonagall's class was interesting to say the least.

"Dolores, to what do we owe the pleasure of having you in my class today?" McGonagall said when Umbridge came in the room right before the class started, her voice dripping with sarcasm.

"Oh," Umbridge said in her sweetest (and most horrifying voice) and then giggled, "I'm just here to fulfill some of the duties I have as High Inquisitor."

McGonagall's lips went thin as she took a moment to control her anger. "I see."

"Just a check up, to make sure that everything is going as it should be," Umbridge giggled again. "I will be rechecking all subjects."

"I hope that none of your classes suffer with all of the attention you are putting into your High Inquisitor duties," McGonagall said, "but I know with your lessons plans you don't have anything to worry about."

Umbridge looked visible flustered by this before she regained her control. "You don't need to worry Minerva, everyone will be learning from Ministry approved Defense Against the Dark Arts lessons."

It was clear to Harry that McGonagall was struggling as she held back her comment about that being the reason she was worried in the first place. "Then I could only hope that you are as good as an Inquisitor as you are a Professor," she said,standing up. "Now if you would please not disturb my class further, it is time for the lesson to begin."

The glare that Umbridge gave McGonagall was worth that lesson's annoyance, but after three more lesson with her in Transfiguration, along with all of his other classes, Harry longed for this torture to end. It sucked that he couldn't even take up the twins offer to use their now perfected Skiving Snackboxes because Umbridge had made it clear that if he had missed any of her lessons, she was going to tutor him separately … a punishment that she only used against him.

"It's like she knows that just being around her is torture," Harry hissed to Ron and Hermione in the common room after his first week of this.

"She probably does," Ron said. "I bet even the people that she's closest to tell her that, the warty old toad … who would want to be near her?"

"I don't know how much I can take of having to look at her smirking face every effing day," Harry groaned, pinching the bridge of his nose in frustration. It hit him then, a pain went across his scar and burned and suddenly he was no longer in the Gryffindor common room.

He was Voldemort and there was a man kneeling before him, explaining about how it would have been impossible for Bode to remove anything from the Department of Mysteries. The man was Rookwood and …

Harry forced himself out of Voldemort's mind then and continued to concentrate on his Occlumency sometimes seeing flashes of Avery (for he was the one that gave Voldemort the wrong information) being tortured. His scar burned with more pain than ever until finally it was over.

"Harry?" Hermione questioned softly, she was sitting next to him, her hand on his shoulder.

"Voldemort," Harry tried to say, but no words came out. He looked questioningly at his friends.

"Sorry … you were screaming and I didn't think you wanted everyone to look at you, so I silenced you," Hermione explained, her eyes filled with nothing but concern as she took off the charm.

"Then I cast _Muffliato_," Ron said. "No one can't hear us."

"Then why didn't you take off the charm sooner?" Harry questioned but it didn't really matter so he went into his explanation. "Voldemort is closer to understanding how to get the prophecy."

"The Occlumency isn't working," Ron sighed, sitting down on Hermione's other side, his eyes were just as worried as his girlfriend's.

"I'm sorry Harry … I thought that you had learned it, I mean you kept me out anytime …" Hermione started to fret.

"Mione, it's not your fault," Harry sighed, rubbing his still stinging scar, "I don't think it will ever work with Voldemort … not with our connection," he added bitterly and Hermione squeezed his shoulder reminding him of the support he had. He looked at his friends, "It might have helped though … I was able to push him out a little … but when he's really feeling angry or any other emotion strongly enough …" he sighed, "it's not going to work."

O

"Harry," a voice said from behind him. He was sitting on a window ledge in the Owlery, absentmindedly petting Hedwig as he thought of everything that was happening. He turned to the voice and found that it was Cho.

"Hey Cho," Harry tried to smile at her but he wasn't sure how he was supposed to act in front of her with everything that happened.

"I was just going to mail my parents a letter," Cho said holding up the parchment as proof. Harry was reminded of a similar occurrence happening a few months ago and how different that encounter had been. Cho recalled his attention when she announcement, biting her lip and looking nervous, "I'm sorry … about Marietta."

Harry frowned and his eyes went narrow, but he didn't know what to say to that.

"She's really a lovely person … I …" Cho tried to defend.

"She betrayed us, Cho," Harry said coldly, his expression was very hard. "You included."

"Her mum works for the Ministry …"

"And that excuses what she did?" Harry questioned. "There are other people in the DA who have parents in the Ministry, but none of them told."

Cho couldn't say anything to that for a while, looking like she was trying to think of more ways to defend her friend's action. "She probably wouldn't have said anything if she knew about the hex. Hermione should have …"

"Told everyone? So that's the kind of person Marietta is? She has to have the threat of a curse over her head to do the right thing," Harry scoffed bitterly.

"I don't think she ever thought the DA was the right thing," Cho said bowing her head. "She just went because I wanted her to … this is all my fault."

"Not all of it," Harry said in a slightly less bitter tone. "It wasn't a good idea to bring someone who didn't really want to be there, but Cho, she's the one who made the choice to betray us …" Cho made to protest again, but Harry pressed on. "Even if she didn't think she was really part of the DA, that doesn't change the fact that she betrayed you. You were her friend and she didn't even warn you about this, did she? You would have been expelled if you were caught and she didn't even warn you! Why are you even defending her?"

"She's my friend," Cho explained looking hurt and angry. Harry wasn't sure if it was directed at him or her so call friend. "Would you just turn your back on your friends after they made a mistake?"

Harry was caught up short by that question because he knew he would defend his friend's actions in almost any case, but betrayal? No, he didn't think so. Harry got up and walked over to Cho, his voice was softer as he started talking again. "It's a good quality to stick up for your friends and stand by them, Cho, but don't be blind. She's already proven that she could turn on you. Just be careful, I don't think she's as good a friend as you are."

Cho's face fell at that as she nodded her head. Harry recognized that she wanted to be alone. He hoped that he got through to her, that Cho wouldn't trust Marietta anymore, but he couldn't be sure.

O

The following weeks were just as torturous as the first week of Umbridge's new strategy of annoying Harry to death. Everywhere he turned he would be faced with the toad's smirk, her annoying laugh, and her overly sweet voice. The only thing that seemed to keep him sane was the disturbances that keep occurring around Umbridge. This was mostly done in her classroom, but some times there were incidents in other places, too. It seemed that while Harry couldn't use Fred and George's products, most of the other students did. This involved students throwing up or spouting a bloody nose whenever they got into Umbridge's classroom. The fifth year Gryffindors would take turns with this so Harry wouldn't have to suffer through any lessons with Umbridge alone.

Then there were all the little pranks that started cropping wherever Umbridge was. There had been a week where a swarm of flies buzzed around her and she couldn't get rid of them no matter what spell she used. During the same week, her voice had gone horse and she would croak anytime she had to talk. It was a nice week because she barely said a word doing that time, but she soon figured out that she shouldn't eat the tart that only seemed to come to her during meal times. Harry personally enjoyed the fireworks that had gone off early one Friday morning and had followed Umbridge around all day, causing all of her classes to be canceled and him to have a nice toad free day.

Fred and George were constant heroes in the Gryffindor Tower for both the little pranks they helped pull on a daily basis and for the bigger ones. They would often reenact Umbridge's outburst at all of the pranks that seemed to be happening and how no matter how much Umbridge complained about these pranks, Dumbledore would always tell her that there was nothing he could do without proof of who was doing this.

On the day of his career advice meeting with McGonagall, which was of course interrupted by the presence of Umbridge, Harry couldn't help the smirk that came to him when he saw the toad. Fred and George had obviously done something to her that made all of her hair fall off, as was suggested by the painted eyebrows and the wig she was wearing. He wondered if Umbridge realized that her wig had turned green and was looking like it was alive. He wondered how the twins had been able to make the wig act that way and when he got back to the common room, he asked them about it.

"Oh, so she tried using a wig," George grinned evilly.

"Too bad, I was hoping she would have tried to use a spell to regrow it," Fred sighed.

"Why? What would have happened?" Harry asked.

"She would have been covered in hair … like a giant fur ball," Fred chuckled. "Then again, if she tried that you won't have seen her and where would be the fun in that?"

"I don't know," Harry laughed. "But seriously … how did you make this happen?"

"Well now, Potter, we can't tell you all of our secrets," George said and Harry sighed, "but we do have to thank you for letting us use your Invisibility Cloak and that knife that unlocks any door … it would have been a hassle to have to break into Toadface's office without them."

"And lets just say that you shouldn't drink tea from there," Fred added with a grin.

Harry chuckled at that.

"So tell us about what happened!" George asked.

"She was there when I had my career advice from McGonagall and I had to struggle not to laugh … her hair was all over the place and shocking …" Harry started to say.

"Why didn't you laugh?" Fred frowned.

"When I told McGonagall that I wanted to be an Auror her hair literally stuck up," Harry said chuckling now as he remembered that, though he ignored Fred's question. "She practically said that I would never be an Auror … that's when McGonagall started sticking up for me, though I had a feeling that it was more about standing up against Toadface. Things got really ugly then and McGonagall told me to go …" Harry smirked now, "that's when I told Toadface that she might want to look in a mirror."

This caused the twins to start to laugh, along with Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Neville, who were all in the common room too, listening to this conversation. Actually, everyone who was in the common room seemed to be listening and laughing at this point.

"I took my time as I left the office so I could watch as she realized exactly what she looked like," Harry laughed. "She was mortified and then she demanded to know why McGonagall didn't tell her about her head. And then McGonagall said, _'Sorry, Dolores … I didn't notice a difference'_, it was brilliant!"

And this caused everyone to break into laughter once more.

O

Harry had been prepared to watch the Quidditch final with the other students. He was sure that this was going to be a good game because both teams needed to win this game if they wanted to win the Quidditch Cup. However, as soon as the game started, Hagrid had approached him and Hermione, asking if they would come with him. Harry couldn't help but noticed how worried Hagrid was, and that his face was black and blue, so he had no other choice but to go with him.

As soon as it was clear that they were heading into the Forbidden Forest, he realized what was going to happen. Though Harry trusted Hagrid with his life, it had been decided not to tell him about what they had learned from the book. Snape had pointed out that there had to be reason why Hagrid hadn't been in with them reading the book in the first place and it might have something to do with the fact that Hagrid wasn't always the best at keeping things secret.

He almost changed his mind about this as they entered the forest. He wasn't sure if he wanted to meet a giant, even the one that had been shown to help them in the book. Before he could say anything, however, Hagrid began making his way through the forest at such a pace that they had to run to keep up with him. Then they were standing in front of Grawp. He was massive even before he stood up and he was terrifying as he played with the trees … bending them down with such ease. Then Hagrid introduced him and Hermione (having to call her Hermy) to Grawp and Harry had to push Hermione away before the giant could reach out to grab her.

When Hagrid asked them if they would come into the forest if Hagrid was sacked and talk to Grawp, Harry had to agree. He couldn't say no to Hagrid, and he knew that though Grawp was terrifying now, he did have the possibility of getting better. Still, he was praying that Hagrid didn't get sacked and he wouldn't have to see Grawp for a while now. He really didn't liked the fact that the centaurs were agitated and that would be another obstacle he would have to face if he had to visit Grawp.

When they got back to the castle, they were met by a cheering that marked that the Gryffindor had won the Cup. The twins where hoisting Ron up on their shoulders and other Gryffindors were carrying Ginny as they marched to the common room for the wonderful celebration that was coming. Harry and Hermione decided to wait a little while before telling about their visit with Grawp.

**A/N: I would just like to say that when Harry is thinking about Hagrid and why he wasn't there when they were reading the book, it's not the real reason. The really reason is that I didn't think about Hagrid being there until after I started the story and I couldn't change it at that time. Again, the reason why I say that they Hagrid still doesn't know anything is because I hadn't mentioned Grawp or had them talking to him before now and this is the only reason I could think of. **


	14. Exams

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fourteen

Exams

As it got closer to the finals, Harry found it impossible to worry about what was happening in the war, what with Hermione making him study every minute of the day. He was sure that she was a hundred times worse than any other year before this, even third year when they she had more classes than it was possible to have without a time turner. It didn't help either that they hadn't study as much as she had wanted to because they had been so worried what they should do to stop Voldemort. Now she was completely in study mode, which annoyed Ron someone because she hardly said a word to him other than telling him off for not studying enough. Still, both Harry and Ron realized how important this test was to their future so the consented to Hermione's schedule and worked most of they day.

When it got to the actually week of the O.W.L's Harry found that he was staying up late into the night trying to remember everything he had learned in the last five years. The test were just as difficult as he thought they were going to be, he was asked to remembered spells or potions that he learned throughout his years at Hogwarts and he was sure without Hermione's note that he study so painfully the last month he would have drawn a blank. He knew he didn't do everything perfect but he felt confident that he passed most of his classes.

The one that he was most worried about though, was Potions. He knew that he had to get an 'Outstanding' in it if he was going to be able to take Potions next year. He had spent a lot of time studying for this class, sure that the written portion of this test had to be perfect if he hand any chance of passing. He felt his nerves were on edge however, for he had no idea how well he did, but at least he was able to answer every questioned. He had to take a deep breath before he was ready to start his potion and remind himself that he was actually doing better in the class since reading the book.

After all, Snape, though still making snide remarks and not counting most of his potions because simple errors, had made him see his mistakes. He wasn't sure how it had happened, but after the first lesson he had after reading the book, he was able to get over Snape's normal behavior and not take it personally. He had to remember too that the last two potions that he made, Snape didn't have anything to say to him, which had to mean that he made them right. Now he was looking at the potion he had to make, and relaxed a little when he realized it was one that he remembered making. He knew that it wasn't perfect, but he hoped it was enough.

That had been his hardest test he had so far and he felt a sense of relief it was over with, because he did the best that he could and it was up to the examiners now. He didn't really have time to worry about that anymore anyway because he had to concentrate on his next subject. The rest of his test went well until he got to his practical Astronomy test.

O

She was really annoyed. And she hated being annoyed. Everything that she had carefully planned wasn't working out and she couldn't stand that. The fact that she was High Inquisitor was suppose to mean that she had more power than anyone, and yet she was thwarted in everything she did. Yes, she got Potter and those awful weasel twins off the Quidditch team … the look on the boys face when he realized he would no longer be able to play Quidditch was wonderful. But what as she done since?

Potter had sent out a news article claiming that You-Know-Who was back and all she was able to do to him was put him through another detentions. She had a brief moment when she thought she was actually going to be able to expel Potter. She had been told that Potter was organizing a secret group to teach them Defense. As if the boy knew anything about defense … it was hard to imagine even these imbecile students would actually follow him, but she had been told that was happening. Then Potter didn't show up, she was still at a lost as to how Potter had figured out that she knew about the group but she couldn't show proof and the girl that had given her this information had refused to say more just because of a stupid curse.

She hated how Dumbledore was able to dismiss her claim, that even as the High Inquisitor she wasn't able to just expel the boy because of what she had suspected him of doing … she had to have proof. It was so frustrating because everyone in that room knew that Potter was in fact holding this classes. She really hated when she didn't get to manipulate the situation.

As she plotted a new way to get to Potter, she had decided that using her roll as High Inquisitor to follow the boy around would be adequate for now. She could see how much having her near him all the time was bothering him and she took pleasure in all of the tension she was causing in him. And then those pranks started to happen. Chaos in everyone one of her classes. No one showing her the respect that she deserved! She knew it had to be the weasels … they smirked at her every time that something happened! But Dumbledore! Argh! That stupid old man wouldn't hear a word against them unless she she showed him evidence. As if he didn't know they were doing this!

She wasn't sure who she was angriest at, the old man, Potter or the weasels, but she was going to have to find a way to get back at all of them. She was also looking for a way for to reassert her authority in this school. Remembered everyone that she was not to be ignored or messed with.

Her target: The Oaf.

It was clear that the oaf was not only a horrible teacher but both Dumbledore and Potter cared about the monster for some reason she would never understand. She anticipate that Dumbledore was going to become defensive of oaf so she was going to make sure that this time everything was going to end up how she planned. She knew this time she was going to get what she wanted. As an added bonus she decided to 'talk' with the oaf when she knew it would disturbed one of Potter's test … it was perfect!

O

The knock at his door caught him by surprised. It was past twelve o'clock and he wasn't use to people visiting him this late. He was thinking about settling down for the night, he had a long day with his finals for the third and sixth years today and having the Umbridge woman questioning every move he made. He felt like going out to the Three Broomstick after his lessons, but he had decided to visit his brother instead. He was disheartened when Grawp didn't even look at him, playing with his pine tree instead. He wished that he would make more progress with his brother, but he wasn't about to stop trying, no matter how much he was ignored or punched. He had thrown back a few tankyards full of mead once he got home thinking that he was going to be alone, but now there was someone knocking on his door.

"Who's there?" Hagrid asked.

"It's the High Inquisitor, Dolores Jane Umbridge," was the answered, and Hagrid groaned. "I need to talk to you."

Though she might have thought he was an idiot, he realized why she was here. He couldn't understand why she waited until the second to last day of the final classes to come, but her she was all the same. Hagrid sighed as he went to open the door, because there was no avoiding this. "Come in …" he stopped there and looked at not just Umbridge, but three other guys, all of which Hagrid recognized as being Aurors. "What's the meaning this?"

"Now calm down Hagrid," Umbridge said in her slow and loud voice she always used when she was talking to him. He hated that voice, and he hated that she would come to his house at midnight with Aurors. "I'm just here to talk to you!"

"Then what are they here for?" Hagrid asked hotly nodding his hand in the direction of the Aurors.

"They're here to make sure nothing regrettable happens," Umbridge said with a smiled suggesting she was expecting the opposite happening. In fact the smile made Hagrid almost want to do something, but he just glared at her, his fist clenched in balls. "As I'm sure you are aware … or … he he … I'm not sure you are aware," she continued, giggling with her overly sweet voice that was just as annoying as when she talked slowly to him. "You're classes have not gone as the Ministry approves of. I'm sorry Hagrid, but you are no longer a Professor at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. If you will follow Dawlish, he will escort you off …"

"I'm not going anywhere!" Hagrid said hotly.

"Now Hagrid, don't make this difficult," Dawlish said.

"I'm still Gameskeeper … and this is my home!" Hagrid started.

"You're service as Gameskeeper is no longer needed either," Umbridge said. "I don't know what Dumbledore was thinking when he hired you in the first place … but then again that could be said about most of the people at Hogwarts. He has become rather foolish in his old age ..."

"No one says anything bad about Albus Dumbledore in front of me," Hagrid said madly and Umbridge smile fadded as she looked at the half giant with real fear in her eyes. He realized what she said wasn't that bad, but he couldn't help himself, he had enough of Umbridge pestering around Hogwarts as if she belongs here.

"Hagrid!" Dawlish said and unwisely tired to grab Hagrid's arm and pull him along, but Hagrid didn't move and Dawlish pulled to hard and nearly fell down. The next thing Hagrid knew one of the other Auror tried to stun him. He just looked at the Auror befuddle about what had just happened. The Auror looked nearly as shocked as him, but that was because he had expect Hagrid to fall after the curse, but there was no such luck when it came to the half giant.

"What are you doing?" Hagrid demanded again this time angrier than ever and the Aurors all raised their wands at him. He realized there was no more need of talking, they weren't going to listen and he wasn't about to let them take him in. He was sure that they would say that he had started the attack and he would be put back in Azkaban.

His plan was to run … it was the only option he had. But when that Auror shot Fang, a defenseless dog that was only trying to help him (which was surprising because Fang was a coward), he had to punch him! The git deserved worse than that, but he didn't have time to deal with that. He picked up Fang, his limp body was heavier than it usually was and then he ran for the gate.

He didn't noticed the shouting of someone coming to intervene in his behalf, he just ran.

O

Harry watched with a gaping mouth at the scene playing out in front of him, though he was on top of the Astronomy tower and the action was on the grounds. Still, he was able to seen the whole incident. Umbridge going to Hagrid's hut with a bunch of Aurors … one of the Aurors firing on Hagrid … Hagrid punching one of the Aurors … Someone coming out of the castle yelling … seeing that it was McGonagall one second and the next having her hit by several stunning curse.

Then Dumbledore was there and there was a surge of power that filled the air as everyone felt his angry at what had just happened. The Aurors were all disarmed and though Harry couldn't hear what he said, he knew that Dumbledore was saying something to them that had them cowering. It was too late though. Hagrid was gone and McGonagall had been attacked.

Harry was reminded about the test that he was talking but he couldn't be bothered with that now. He had no idea what was going to happen now. Hagrid would hopefully be safe … McGonagall hopefully wasn't hurt too much and Dumbledore hopefully could make it so Umbridge will be kicked out of Hogwarts once and for all. But he knew that wasn't going to happen. He wasn't even sure what was going to happen as he watched Dumbledore and Umbridge went back into Hogwarts and the Aurors were escorted to the front gates by Flickwick … obviously dismissed from the premisses.

The walk down from the tower, every one of the fifth years were talking about what had happened, speculated about the reason. Harry couldn't talk … he felt unnerve about everything. He couldn't sleep at all that night worrying about everything. The attack at Hogwarts, though not from a Death Eater, had him on edge and he feared what was going to happen next. His years of experience had told him something was going to happen and it was going to happen soon. He knew he still had one more test to worry about, but it he could no longer concentrate on school with his growing fear.

"Harry you look awful," Hermione said sitting next to him on the common room couch.

Harry was holding his head in his hands but he moved slowly to look at her, "I couldn't get any sleep."

"I know," Hermione sighed, she looked worn out too. "But we have one more test to do …"

"That's not what I'm talking about," Harry pointed out.

She rolled her eyes, "I know that. I just mean …"

"We should head down," Ron interrupted looking tired himself, "we don't want to be late for breakfast."

Harry and Hermione had to smile, it was such a Ron thing to say. They got up and walked down to the Great Hall for the meal and then the final test of the year, History. He could hardly keep his eyes open as he struggled to answer the question. It was brutal and he barely remembered anything about history. His eyes felt like lead and finally he couldn't take it anymore.

"All you have to do is give me what I want," Harry said in a cool voice, he felt himself kneeling next to a large man with dark hair. "I can stop the torture … just give me what I want."

The man turned to face him with a defiant look, "I'll never give you what you want!"

"Yes you will," Harry said in a jeering voice and Harry could feel his lip curled up in a cruel smirk, "I always get what I want … Hagrid."

**A/N: I was planning on going farther with this chapter but it took up more with stuff that is probably considered filler but I couldn't seem to help it. This is what came out. Someone suggested that I didn't use Sirius as the one that Voldemort took and at first I couldn't think who else that could be. Actually just as I wrote this note I changed it to Hagrid and I think it works. **


	15. What Now?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifteen

What Now?

Harry woke up yelling, the pain in his scar was searing as he knew Voldemort had to be cursing Hagrid at this moment. He took a deep breath, left hand kneeing his forehead that was stinging and he tried to think of what to do now. _Dumbledore_! He thought lead him and he got up to leave.

"Mr. Potter, are you okay?" one of the examiner questioned.

"Yeah …" he lied, he could see that everyone was looking at him, Ron and Hermione's glaze worried and knowing at the same time. "I just have to get out of here … I'm finished."

"But …" the examiner said but Harry didn't care about that, he had to get to Dumbledore right away. He ran to the headmaster's office and was surprised when he was told my the statues that no one was allowed to up.

"Why not?" Harry demanded.

"The Headmaster is talking to the Minister and has asked not to be disturbed by anyone," the statue said stiffly. "No run along sonny Jim."

"Tell him it's Harry Potter and that it's extremely important!"

"Someone does think he's special, doesn't he?" the statue said and Harry groaned in frustration as his scar blared and he knew that something terrible had to be happening. He didn't have time to wait for the stupid statue to let him in. He didn't know what to do. He would go to McGonagall but Hermione had said that she was probably be out for a few days because of the curse she sustained. Hermione! He had to get back to his friends, maybe they could think of what he should do. He ran back to the Great Hall, bumping into Ron and Hermione on his way there and he dragged them into an empty class room.

"What happened?" Hermione asked immediately, "what did you see?"

"Voldemort … he has Hagrid in the Ministry!" Harry exclaimed, unable to keep his voice down in his worry. "And I don't know what to do now … the stupid statue won't let me talk to Dumbledore and McGonagall is knocked out … and I need to talk to someone from the Order!"

"We could go to Snape," Hermione suggested.

Harry looked at her and he knew she was right, and he was about to head down to the dungeon not caring about what this would do to Snape as a spy, but he couldn't let Hagrid be tortured. He would just have to think of a way to not endanger Snape …

"Wait a second … what about Sirius?" Ron asked. "You could talk to him in that mirror!"

"That's it!" Harry exclaimed happily and then ran from the room with his friends closely following him. It took mere minutes to get up there, and Harry rushed to his trunk and pulled out the mirror yelling Sirius's name.

"Harry!" Sirius said obviously looked concerned. "What's the matter Harry?"

"VoldemorthasHagrid!" Harry yelled in one breath.

"What?" Sirius asked.

"Voldemort has Hagrid!" he had to force himself to say slowly. "I just saw … they're in the Ministry."

Sirius didn't say anything as Harry watched what as all the emotions he felt playing over Sirius's face. He gulped, "are you sure?"

"I'm sure!" Harry said. "I had a vision!"

"It might have been implanted," Sirius said in a hallow voice and this did nothing to quench Harry's nerves. "Voldemort might have made you see …"

"He's never done something like that before," Harry interrupted Sirius, he was shaking his head, the vision he saw was so real. He couldn't let Sirius comfort him with words he wanted to hear if there was any chance that Hagrid might be hurt.

"But we were sure that he was going to try," Sirius said. "Harry, we've been through this before. We told you how dangerous it was for you to see anything from Voldemort. He's just trying to lead you to the Ministry!"

"That doesn't mean he doesn't have Hagrid!" Harry said. "Do you know what happened last night?"

"Yes," Sirius said his eyes flashing with angry. "Dumbledore told us … wait … what are you doing talking to me? You should go to Dumbledore with this."

"I couldn't get in his office … he was talking to Fudge," Harry groaned.

"Hmph," Sirius huffed. "We're going to have to change that. Harry go back to Dumbledore's office …" he said and seeing Harry's worried expression, "I'm sure Hagrid is fine … I don't see how Voldemort could have got to him but we still need to do something about this. This is obviously a trap … but maybe we can use it …"

"Fine, I'll talk to Dumbledore," Harry said cutting off his godfather and putting the mirror in his pocket. Sirius might have put some hope in his head but he was still terrified.

"Harry," Hermione said in a whisper and he turned to see her looking at him with fear.

"I see him, Hermione," Harry said softly, "he's screaming in pain … I … I don't …"

"It's not real mate," Ron said putting his hand on Harry's other shoulder and Harry could tell that his friends didn't want Hagrid to be hurt any more than he did.

"It feels real," Harry mumbled, and letting them support him for a few seconds before he turned for the door and going to head for Dumbledore's office again. When he got to the common room Ginny came up to him.

"Hey …" she said smiling before she noticed how first Harry, then Ron and Hermione, looked. "What happened?"

Harry couldn't say, especially not with everyone in the room looking at him. "Just come with us …"

"Harry?" Ron questioned in a tone that said that he was really against that suggestion.

"She deserves to know at least," Harry said, and made his way to leave when he noticed the twins coming over to him. He didn't say anything when the wordlessly joined the group, they deserved to know too, though in the end none of them was likely going to be doing anything. Not even him.

This time when he got to the statue it just jump to the side, as if it was waiting for him to come and he walked up the stairs with Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Fred and George following him.

"What's going on," he heard George ask Ron, but there was no answered as Harry knocked on the door.

"Come in," Dumbledore said, and Harry felt Dumbledore's eyes on him as he entered the room and then Dumbledore raised his eyebrows when he saw how many people were here. "It seems like I'm going to have to drawl more chairs."

He did just that and everyone silent took a seat, half of the people not even knowing what was happening. Dumbledore seemed to realize this and then said in a grave voice. "It seems that there are some of you in here that needs to be informed of what is happening. For myself, I would like to hear everything from Harry, but I think that we should wait until Severus gets here. However, I can tell you that, as I was informed by Sirius, Harry had a vision of Hagrid being … taken … by Voldemort and they have gone to the Ministry."

"Is he alright?" Ginny asked looking horrified, reminded too forcefully about the last time she was in this office being told about one of Harry's vision. Harry, who had looked like he was devastated himself, wrapped an arm around her instinctively in support.

"I am under the belief that Voldemort had implanted the imagine in Harry's mind," Dumbledore with a long sigh. "I have known for a long time now that Voldemort would use this connection with Harry and I believe that this is what is happening." He turned his eyes on Harry, and he could see that this didn't alleviate any of the boy's fears. Before he could say anymore on this subject there was a knock on his door and Snape entered the room.

"I wasn't aware that we're having a child conference," Snape said.

"Whole you tongue, Snappy, we don't need that right now," Fred said. "We need to concentrate on what should be done now."

"Severus sit down," Dumbledore said calmly and Snape glared at Fred before he took a seat. "Harry, can you tell me everything about your vision."

Harry sighed, and then told Dumbledore in as much detail as he could remember what he had seen. He could feel the old man's eyes on him and he needed to know something and he pleaded the answer was positive. "Do you know where Hagrid is?"

Dumbledore sighed, "unfortunately I do not. It appears that Hagrid didn't take his … umbrella ... with him when he ran for Hogwarts last night and I have yet to have contact with him. However, Harry, the timing is too precise … and you know as well as I do that Hagrid could not get the prophecy."

"He could still be using Hagrid … just to get to me!" Harry moaned miserably.

"I'm worried about Hagrid too," Dumbledore assured Harry and he knew that Dumbledore was telling the truth because of the look in his eyes. "However, there are other things that he have to think about now."

"Like what?" Fred asked.

"Severus, what have you learned about the mission?" Dumbledore asked.

"I wasn't able to conform or deny that Hagrid was taken," Snape said, "but I have learned that there will be several Death Eaters station at the Ministry to wait for Potter to come. The Dark Lord has predicted that the boy would do anything to save one of his friends …"

"One of my friends … not Hagrid?" Harry questioned.

"From what I gather they weren't sure which person was to be used," Snape said. "I was told that Black and Lupin were mentioned but obviously they have gone with Hagrid."

"Then how do you know they don't really have him?" Harry asked. "He might have used Hagrid because he was able to get him …"

"I believe they just used him because they heard that Hagrid was forced out of Hogwarts by Umbridge," Snape said, "apparently Lucius had heard from Fudge about the whole incident."

"That still could mean …!" Harry started to say, why couldn't they see that even if this is just a trap that doesn't mean that Hagrid couldn't still be in danger.

"Harry there is no way that the Dark Lord would go to the Department of Mystery," Snape said firmly. "It is too dangerous for him because he wants to stay anonymous for as long as possible. The vision you have was not real, but a plot to get you to the Ministry."

"So what are we going to do now?" Ron asked suddenly, catching people by surprised.

"You … you are doing nothing," Snape said. "The Order is …"

"We want to help," Fred said.

"What is going to happen now is that the Order of the Phoenix are going to go to the Ministry and confront the Death Eaters that are to be there," Dumbledore said. "And I'm sorry, Mr. Weasley … all Mr. Weasleys …" he added showing a sparkle of amusement as he noticed the Weasley boys looking determined. "But I can not allow any of my students to be involved in a mission like this."

"Dumbledore!" Harry said looking at him furiously. "What about me?"

"Harry," Dumbledore said shaking his head. "It would not be wise …"

"He expects me to be there," Harry said. "Do you think you can trap the Death Eaters if I'm not?"

"You're more important than Death Eaters, Harry," Dumbledore said but that didn't make Harry feel any better. "I know that you're use to being involved Harry … but it's …"

"Dangerous," Harry said dejectedly and yet defiantly. He couldn't get the image out of his mind of Hagrid being tortured and out of his head and he wanted to see for himself that his vision was in fact false … or to help his friend if it is true that he was there.

"I hate to say this, but Potter might actually have a point," Snape said. "This is the most control situation that we can have in facing the Death Eaters, however, it is unlikely that they would make a move until they are able to get the prophecy, which you know only Potter can get. They would also likely be told not to hurt Potter until they have the prophecy. The Dark Lord is possessed by the idea of getting the prophecy … if he doesn't get it by using this trap, he might try something much more dangerous in the future."

Dumbledore sat back in his chair looking thoughtful. He didn't want Harry to be put into danger, especially something like this when the boy wasn't even sixteen yet. Snape had a point though, he could not predict what Voldemort's next move would be in his attempt to get the prophecy if this should fail but it would probably consisted on an attack on the Ministry that they wouldn't be as ready for.

"Are you sure about this, Harry?" Dumbledore asked, looking at the boy firmly.

Harry nodded his head determinately and immediately chaos erupted in the room.

"We're going too!" Ron and Hermione said at the same time moving closer to Harry.

"So are we!" the twins said and Fred added, "we're of age after all!"

Dumbledore sighed at the predictable and yet timely reaction of the others in the room. He wasn't about to let any of them join in the fight though, and he was glad when the light flashed and reinforcement had materialized in the room. Seven people, Mad-Eye, Tonks, Sirius, Remus, Kingsley, Bill, and Molly, were in the room holding onto a coat hanger that Dumbledore had sent with Fawks to Grimmauld Place as soon as he got the message from Sirius. Sirius obviously had gather other Order of the Phoenix members to join him.

"So tell us everything that happened, Albus," Mad-Eye was the first to ask, but the other people that have just arrived looked curious, though Molly was looking at her stubborn looking children with a sharp eye. None of the younger Weasleys were happy about their mum suddenly being there … it meant that they had little to no chance of going with Harry.

Dumbledore explained about what Harry had seen and about their suspected trap that the Death Eaters were going to have.

"They couldn't have picked a better day," Kingsley said. "About a week ago Fudge had ordered level five security drill to go through the Ministry at three o'clock today. No one is going to be in the Ministry after Four o'clock … that's only a few hours from now."

"Obviously he expects Potter to make it to the Ministry somehow, but it would take him a few hours to get there." Moody said.

"One can assume that, because if we went now, I don't think Harry can make it a few steps in the Ministry without people noticing him," Tonks said. "So what's our plan?"

"It seems like we have a few hours to think of something good," Sirius said which caused Harry to grimace, it was all nice and easy for them to say, they didn't have to endure their head searing in pain … worried that the vision he had might be more real than the others seemed to think it is.

"Hm … Well I have just agreed to Harry's request to come …" Dumbledore started and like he had predicted, he wasn't able to get farther than that without someone, in this cause, several people, protesting. He decided however, to carry on with the next issue that would be address, because he knew that would cause even more argument, "and the others in the room have requested to come along also."

"You can't be serious Dumbledore!" Molly exclaimed, obviously gearing up to argue with him.

"I assure that I will not consent to the others going," Dumbledore said calmly and 'the others' all complained about this. Dumbledore sighed, knowing that he was going to have to use every one of his 'few hours' to get everyone organized and then they still had to plan out how they are going to go about facing the Death Eater that would allow the Order to have the advantage, and at the same time make it so they fall into the trap. He gave a look to Mad-eye before he addressed the other, and he knew his old friend understand that he had better think of something.

**A/N: Again this wasn't exactly how I thought I would end this chapter, I was going to go into details into what the Order's plan, but it's probably better if I just let it work out on it's own in the next chapter. **


	16. The Department of Mystery

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Sixteen

The Department of Mystery

It had taken a long time for everyone to agree with the plan, by the end of which Neville and Luna were called to the headmasters office to help. Now, in a group of eight, Harry was flying towards the Ministry, his scar burning on his forehead and he could feel Voldemort's will press against his mind. The pain was almost comforting though, because it meant that Dumbledore was right that Voldemort was forcing the vision onto him … hopeful that meant that Hagrid hadn't been taken. He was also tried to remember what Remus had told him about half giants thick skin helping to dull the effects of any curse.

"He's okay Harry," one of the red headed twin said, and Harry felt his worry relax a little.

"I didn't realize that you were this close to Hagrid," the blonde girl said, a grumpy expression on the usually dreamy face making her look peculiar, and not in the normal way.

"Hagrid was the one that told me what I was," Harry said. "He was the first person that was nice to me … my first friend. I don't want anything to happen to him."

"You don't have to worry Harry, I'm sure Hagrid is fine," she said and then looked at the flying winged horse, "it's really weird flying this things."

Harry agreed with this, but didn't say anything. He thought it really was a good idea when Dumbledore suggested taking the thestrals, because not only would they have know how to get to the Ministry, he could have figured out using them himself. Still he was glad when they landed near the back entrance and he got off the horse with the others following him. It was odd that he had so many more people around him, but he didn't feel as comfortable as he normally did in situation like this though he knew he was safer than he had been before (not that he wasn't still afraid, he knew anything could happen).

Before they got to the phone booth, Hermione sent a Patronus, the fury animal heading towards Hogwarts to tell Dumbledore that they had arrived at the Ministry. Then they went down in groups because the phone booth wasn't big enough for all eight of them, so Harry went down with Ron, Hermione, and Neville ... Fred, George, Luna and Ginny came the next time. He felt like his nerves were on the edge as he waited for the others to come, worrying despite himself that something would happen to them and feeling a little foolish when they got there.

He headed towards the lift, wondering if they were being watched by Death Eaters. He couldn't be sure but he felt as if someones eyes were one him and it made his skin crawl. Once they got to the Department of Minsitry, Harry was lost. He had no idea where he was supposed to go. He knew that he had dreams about where the prophecy was, a dream that made to be implanted by Voldemort, but it had never been clear to him. He looked at Ron, who nodded his head looking like he was concentrating about something before opening the door to a glittering room.

"This should be it," Ron said curtly, "come on, keep moving."

"We are," Hermione said rolling her eyes with a smirk and Ron grimaced at her as the other filed through the door into a room with an hourglass in it.

"What is that?" Harry said, watching as a bird seeming to be growing younger as he watched.

"It's time," Hermione said watching it with just as much amazement.

"We should keep going," Neville pointed out and Hermione smiled at him sheepishly.

"Right you are," she said and they continued to the next room, which was the room that they where heading towards. The Hall of Prophecies. Harry walked towards the aisle that Dumbledore told him the prophecy was, wondering what he was going to meet once he got there. Though he was assure it wouldn't be the case, he was half expect to find Hagrid there. However, the others were right, it was empty.

"I don't get it," Harry said looking around worriedly, at least he was trying to act like he was worried. They others were trying to look at him with concern, but he could see their eyes searching the hall for the Death Eaters that everyone was sure was there. He couldn't spot any and he was sure that none of the other could either. "Where is he?"

"Harry," Ron said, "come here."

"What is it?" Harry said impatiently, though of course he knew what it was.

"This thing has your name on it," Ron answered, pointing at it and Harry walked over to it. They had rehearsed what they would have to say when it came to getting the prophecy, and Harry felt that they had delivered the lines stiffly, but hopefully it wasn't that noticeable.

He gulped as he moved his hand towards the glass orb knowing how important it was. He knew that he couldn't let Voldemort get a hold of the prophecy and he knew that the only shield against the coming attack was this orb. He also knew that as soon as he touched it, the fight was going to happen. He glanced at the watch that was on his wrist and was revealed that they had kept to the time and picked up the prophecy.

"Very good, Potter. Now turn around, nice and slowly, and give that to me." said the drawling voice of Lucius Malfoy.

Harry felt the other gather around him and hated that they were protecting him, but he had agreed to let them do this, in exchange he was allowed to come on the mission. He watched as twelve Death Eaters surrounded them, and he felt his heart pound in his chest and he was trying to remind himself that they had expected this.

"To me, Potter!" Lucius commanded.

"Sorry old Lucius, were not going to give you anything," Fred said with a smirk.

"Don't be foolish boy, we outnumber you," Lucius said coldly, a threat in his icy tone.

"It seems you have me mistaken for someone else, Lucy," he said, his grin widening as his red hair started to darken.

With that the seven people surrounding Harry shouted out curses with lightning fast speed that seemed to catch the Death Eaters off guard. They were not facing eight Hogwarts' students, but Harry and seven highly trained wizard and witches.

O

After Dumbledore had stated firmly both that Harry would have to go to the Ministry and that the other students of Hogwarts weren't, they had all tried to think of a plan that would catch the Death Eaters off guard. It was obvious that Harry would have to have the adults in the room go with him, but if he had shown up in the Ministry with three Aurors (though Mad-eye was retired) and four other highly qualified wizards and witch that would have taken away the advantage they had in this situation.

It was George that came up with the solution, trying to look put out that he wouldn't be able to go to the Ministry, but Dumbledore could see a look in his eyes that he was relieved that he was. Dumbledore was sure that had something to do with the book and the fact that Fred had been killed, the boy would have more of an idea that he would ever what to know of what it would be like to lose his brother and he wouldn't want that to happen.

"You know, things would be pretty simple if you had some Polyjuice Potion," George had suggested over the other discussion that were going on in the room. Everyone stopped talking to look at him. "The Order members could just take our hair so they could look like us and then the Death Eater will think they're just facing a bunch of kids."

"Not a bad idea," Snape said with a grimace. "If only we had the potion."

"Actually … I do have some," Mad-eye said. "I thought it might come in handy after what Dumbledore said happen in the book."

"Do you have it with you?" Dumbledore asked.

"No, but I can get it and be back here quickly," Mad-eye said.

"You can't let Umbridge see you," Dumbledore said.

"I can take him through one of the secret passageway, it would be faster and safer than going through the front door," Sirius volunteered.

Dumbledore nodded his head, "go, by the time you get back we'll work out the other details."

"So what are these details that you're talking about?" Fred questioned.

"If you have not noticed, there are seven people in here willing to act as Harry's guard," Dumbledore said, pointing at the five people that were still there and Mad-eye and Sirius who were just leaving. "I was wondering if there was two other students that we could ask to join us to help disguise some of the others. Mind you, it would be best if these others are people that are believable that you, Harry, would go with."

Harry looked at Ron and Hermione as he tried to think of two other people that he would trust to go with him.

"What about Neville?" Hermione suggested and Harry nodded his head, he was thinking the same.

"Yeah … and well …" Harry wasn't sure if she fit what Dumbledore had said, he knew that he could trust. "Luna."

"Luna … really?" Ron questioned, looking dejected, he had not taken the fact that he would be left behind well and he was struggling to keep his mood from showing.

"It feels like things have worked out backward, but from the book I know that she can be trusted," Harry said.

"What do you mean backward?" Ron asked.

"I don't know," Harry said. "It feels like if it weren't for the book she probably would have help us out with this … or at some point. That would explain how I had come to regard her the way I had. Knowing that I did trust her in the future, makes me trust her now … does that make sense?"

"No," Ron said, along with a few other people.

"Very well, I will have Mr. Longbottom and Miss Lovegood summoned here," Dumbledore said, the twinkle in his eyes told Harry that the old headmaster at least understood. "So now that we have the proper number, it's time to decide who is going to be who."

"Mad-eye will want to be Ron," Kingsley supplied immediately. "He'll want to be as close to Harry as possible."

"I would think that Sirius would want to be Ron too," Remus said, knowing his friend would also want to be as close to Harry as possible.

"I think it would be better if it's Mad-eye," Dumbledore decided. "He knows how the Department of Mysterious works and how to lead Harry where he would need to go."

"It's nice to know that you're wanted, isn't it?" Hermione said to her sulking boyfriend, she wasn't pleased to be left behind either, but she tried to cheer Ron up none the less.

"Yeah," Ron couldn't help but smile a little at that.

"Well you are Harry's best friend, he looks at you whenever he need help," Tonks pointed out.

"Actually he mostly looks at Hermione," Ron said.

"He looks to you two," Hermione said firmly.

"How about you let 'he' talk for himself," Harry said rolling his eyes. "And, Ron, you know I look for your help."

"Now that that's settle, I think I'll be Hermione," Tonks said. "And Molly can be Ginny."

"Sirius and I'll will be Fred and George," Remus said.

"So that leaves me as Neville," Kingsley said. "And Bill will be ..." he smiled as the younger Weasleys all started to snigger at their eldest brother's expression, "will be Luna."

"No … wait!" Bill exclaimed. "Why do I have to a girl!"

"Watch it Billy, you're letting you cool demeanor slip," Fred laughed.

"Sorry Bill, you pulled the short straw, being the youngest here." Tonks said amused.

"You're younger than me," Bill pointed out.

"And I'm going to be a girl too," Tonks shrugged and Bill grimace more.

"How are they going to get to the Ministry?" Hermione asked ignore the Weasleys children as the continued to tease their brother.

"I believe the safest way is to use the thestrals," Dumbledore said, "they know how to get to the Ministry and it one of the ways of travel in and out of Hogwarts that isn't being monitored by Umbridge and the trip won't take that long."

Dumbledore than turned to look a the young Auror, "Tonks."

"Yes sir," Tonks answered stopping her teasing of Bill in mid sentence.

"As soon as you get to the Ministry send me a Patronus," Dumbledore said. "I feel as if I'll need to go to the Ministry myself, but in case there is some kind of scheme Voldemort has up his sleeve it would be best if I wait a few minutes."

"Yes sir," Tonks said.

They discussed other things as they waited for Mad-eye and Sirius to get back and then headed out to the Forbidden Forest to get the thestrals. Dumbledore explained that he was going to come about a half an hour after they get there, which Harry made sure that he took to note of.

O

Bill and Tonks had stunned two Death Eaters at the start of the fight as Mad-eye moved Harry behind him, sending up shield charms around not only the boy but the other Order members when needed. Molly moved to guard Harry's others side, her fierce protectiveness making her an exceptional duelist and she was able to stun another of the Death Eaters threatening them, making the numbers between them almost even.

Suddenly Mad-eye was blasted with a groan of pain and Harry turn to come face to face with Bellatrix Lestrange.

"Accio Prophecy," She shouted and Harry felt the orb slip from his fingers.

"Finte Incimterme!" he said without thinking, knowing she couldn't take it to her master.

"No!" Bellatrix screamed her eyes budging maddenly as the glass orb went crashing to the floor when the spell was ended prematurely. "YOU FOOL! Do you know what you have done!"

Harry gulped as he looked into the eyes that were screaming for his death.

"CURICO!"

Harry ears were filled with the screams of his godfather as Sirius pushed him to the floor and took the curse that was meant for him.

"NO! Sirius!" Harry groaned.

"Petrificus Totalus," Bellatrix said, flicking her wand at Harry, freezing him to the spot. "You're right dear cousin, it would be better to punish the foolish boy but killing all those that have come to protect him."

"As if you could," Sirius smirked darkly at his most hated relative. "I'll make sure that you don't have the change to hurt anyone else."

"Aw, the little hero," Bellatrix said in her baby voice and sent a non verbal curse at him.

Harry, from his frozen seat, had to watch in awe as Sirius dodge the curse but his heart pounded in his chest as a fear greater than anything else seized him. He knew that Sirius had been killed in the book … he could not lose his godfather. He could not!

Bellatrix and Sirius duel was fierce as they taunted each other Harry struggled as hard as he could with the curse that held him. He watched as Sirius was knocked off his feet by a curse and Bellatrix triumphant smirk.

"You never were a match for me," Bellatrix taunted as her wand moved and her mouth started to form the words that would mean the end of Sirius, Harry's body was suddenly able to move and he was making the step that he had been willing himself to make while the fight went on. He slammed into Bellatrix as she screamed "Avada Kedavra!"

The green curse hit the floor mere inches away from where Sirius was, but Harry had no time to fill relieved. Bellatrix was standing over him now, her wand pointing at him and he was sure that he was going to die. The only comfort he had was that it would bring Voldemort a step closer to death himself, but seconds past and he hadn't been killed. Bellatrix took a step back, her eyes on the far side of the room and Harry was sure that Dumbledore had to be there.

She turned and ran.

He wasn't sure what he was thinking, but he didn't want her to get away … not knowing the damage that she would be able to do. He ran after her.

**A/N: I wasn't sure how to write the beginning knowing that Harry was with people that were using the Polyjuice Potion. I didn't want to make it too obvious that they weren't who they appeared to be, but at the same time show the difference of each character. I'm not sure how it came across and I hope it made sense. I would also like to say that I had no intentions of Sirius being killed but I added the duel at the end to make it seem like I might. That was probably cruel of me, but hopefully it was more entertaining this way. Oh, and I just wanted to say the reason why Harry unfroze is that Dumbledore cast the Finite charm, which released him. Either that or Harry did some non verbal magic. I supposed you could pick which ever way you prefer because I thought of both while writing this.**


	17. Trap

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Seventeen

Trap

Harry knew that he was being stupid as soon as his foot made the first step, but he felt inside that he had to do this. He ran after the most insane woman he knew existed, one that wouldn't hesitate for a second to kill him. He heard foot steps behind him and he wonder who it was, but didn't turn around, he would lose too much speed if he had. He did not want to be stopped right now, he felt a drive in him that wasn't like anything he felt before.

"Harry, what do you think you're doing?" the person running after him yelled and Harry realized that it was Remus, his voice was filled with an edge that wasn't normal for the werewolf. Harry knew he was scary him and he was started to get scared himself, because he found that he couldn't stop running.

He burst through thedoor expecting to see the hourglass of time in it, but this was a different room. It was dark, and he couldn't see that far in front of him but he heard the foot steps that marked the person he chased and then he could hear the ones that followed him. He could see giant balls and wondered what they could be but he couldn't seemed to focus on them, his mind was starting to be consumed with catching up with Bellatrix Lestrange, the most dangerous Death Eater out there and one that needed to be stopped.

He reached the next door quicker than he thought, and the door slammed closed behind him. He could see Bellatrix robe's disappeared through a door in the circular room and as he shot a curse to prevent the door from closing … he didn't know how to get out of this room if it had, he heard something slammed into the door behind him. He knew it had to be Remus, but the door seemed to have been stuck. Harry could only wonder for a second why that could be when his feet were moving again, running after the witch he had to catch.

He was really scared now, as part of him realized that he wasn't the one making him this destructively determined to catch her, but he couldn't do anything to stop it. Instead of fighting this urge he thought what he was going to do once he did catch her, knowing that he would. The doors to the lift open and his eyes darted across the room, looking for Bellatrix, but he couldn't find her. Still he was sure that she was there, and he rushed through the door, all of his senses on the edge.

He heard the nose from behind him and he rolled to the left, to hide behind the statue in the middle of the Atrium, the curse cracking the floor where he had been. As soon as he turned to face Bellatrix, he felt his eagerness to catch her drain from him as he was now filled with fear, not sure how he was going to get out of this.

"What did you do to me?" Harry demanded, hoping it would distract her but knowing that it wouldn't work.

"I didn't have a chance to play with you down there," Bellatrix said in pouting voice that grated at Harry's nerves, "but I wasn't done with you …" then she added in a cold fury, "Curio!"

Harry tried to dodge, but the curse came too fast for him, and he screamed as he was hit. The pain was excruciating and he could hear her mad laughter.

"You were foolish to destroy the prophecy Potter," she said, not lifting the curse. "Now there's nothing to stop me from killing you slowly." She walked towards him, and then kneeled in front of him, stopping the curse as she spoke this time, "It was too bad that I didn't get to kill my cousin in front of you, but don't think that's going to save him or any of your Order members … starting with the giant oaf that you've come here to save!"

"Hagrid!" Harry gasped and he could see in her smirk that he had responded in the way that she wanted, but he couldn't help it. His heart was hamming in his chest and though terrified for his life, he was now afraid more than ever for his friend's. "No … it was implanted …. it couldn't …"

"You think the Dark Lord would leave things up to chance," Bellatrix shook her head, "that he wouldn't take full advantage of the chance that we were given."

"Stupified!" the curse came from the stairs and missed Bellatrix by inches. She dived behind the statue now and sent a curse at her new pursuers. Remus was standing there looking grim and worried about something.

"Just drop your wand, you're not going to get out of here!" Remus said, knowing it was useless and ducking behind the desk as a curse sailed by him.

"And you're going to be the one to stop me," Bellatrix said smugly. "I'm surprised that you were able to get here."

"Wha …?" Harry started to question, but had to roll out of the way of a curse and he thought he better pick a better place to hide. He looked at Remus and with that look he knew the werewolf would cover him and he ran for the desk. He didn't hear the curse that Remus said, but he could hear the crashing sound it made and he was sure that Bellatrix was distracted for a few seconds.

"Running away little Harry?" Bellatrix questioned in her baby voice. "You'll never save your oaf that way."

"Oaf," Remus questioned as Harry ducked behind the desk next to him.

"She said that they do have Hagrid," Harry said trying to catch his breath.

Remus's expression was unreadable, "Let's just concentrate on surviving this fight …"

"What did she mean about being surprised you're here?" Harry questioned nervously.

"I don't know what they did, but I don't think we're going to have any back up soon," Remus said. "Every step I took while I was following you became harder and harder. When I got to the door for the room with the planets in it, I had to struggle to lift my arms … it took me five minutes to get through the circular room."

"They knew that we were trying to trap them," Harry groaned. "I'm sorry Remus, for chasing after her like that …"

"Something tells me that wasn't your fault entirely," Remus said tightly and then shouted a curse at the edge of the statue Bellatrix was behind, she had been inching towards the fireplace, the way she could exit that Ministry.

"You honestly think I'm leaving," Bellatrix cackled and there was a emerald flame that lit up and a huge figure flew from it, followed by another.

Harry's eyes went round at what he was looking at, "Hagrid! NO!"

"Aw, Harry Potter, it's nice to see you again," the cold, cruel voice of Voldemort ringed in his ears, but Harry's eyes were on his friend, who had cuts all over his body and looked bruised and broken. Somehow his normal bulk seemed small as he rolled into himself. "It seems that you've seen what I have done to my old friend."

"You arse …" Harry started to shout in angry but Remus grabbed his arm.

"Keep your cool … you can't help him if you don't," he hissed, obviously worried himself.

"You must be wondering what happened," Voldemort said, obviously playing with Harry like he had last year in the graveyard. He must be confident that no one would come to interrupt him … did he know that Dumbledore was here? Would that mattered? "It had bothered me that you were keeping me out of your mind in any way," Voldemort's voice because crueler than ever and Harry was sure he was more than just bothered by that. "And I was sure you would run to Dumbledore as soon as you had my little vision, I couldn't let an old fool and little boy get in my way. I knew that I would need a little more insurance.

"Hagrid's disappearance gave me exactly what I needed," Voldemort said smugly. "I of course didn't have him when I made you see his capture, having only heard of his removal of Hogwarts an hour before. But I didn't need him to get you to come … you are so predictable. You would run to the rescue to any of your friends," Voldemort shook his head at this idea.

"I had my Death Eaters search the area around Hogwarts, knowing that Hagrid couldn't go my magic, not after he was expelled in his third year," Voldemort's smirked made Harry's blood boil, that the bastard would say that when it was Voldemort's fault that Hagrid had been expelled in the first place. "I'm told that he put up quite the fight, but as you can see, I was able to acquire what I wanted.

"And now Harry Potter, you are going to give me what I really want," Voldemort finished, his eyes meeting Harry's in that moment.

"I don't have your prophecy," Harry told him, but he could see in Voldemort's eyes, that wasn't what he wanted.

"I know," Voldemort said with a sigh, "you have destroyed all the work I've been doing for the last year … but that is not what I want now.

"I'm going to kill your friend Harry Potter, and there is no way that you can stop me," Voldemort said his red eye's holding Harry's. "Not by force at least. You know that. But if you give yourself up, if you allow me to kill you instead, I will let Hagrid … and the werewolf, go."

"Harry no," Remus said as he watched Harry's expression.

"Why not?" Harry said feeling numb, he did not think this day was going to come so soon.

"You don't know if it will work …" Remus pleaded, "we … we can figure something out."

"He's right, it's the only way I can save Hagrid … and you," Harry said. "We can't duel him …"

"Think about it Harry, if he's giving you this choice, it means the others will be here soon," Remus said, "he doesn't need you to give up when he could just kill us and be gone … if we just …"

"I'm going to have to do this at some point, Remus," Harry swallowed, his mind thinking about how different this day was than the one in the book. Was it enough that he was going to willing give himself up, or had the hallows played a bigger role in his survival than he knew? Does knowing that he might survive, mean that he wouldn't?

"It doesn't have to be now," Remus said.

"I need your answer, Harry Potter," Voldemort said. "Shall I kill your friend or will you take his place."

"Tell everyone I'm sorry," Harry said in a shaky voice and Remus moved to grip Harry's arm.

"Harry …"

"And make sure you and Tonks …" but he couldn't say anymore because Remus pulled him in a embrace that was even more bone crushing than Molly's.

"You better come back to us, Harry," Remus voice was strain as he continued to crush Harry. "Because so help me …" he cut off unable to say anything else as Harry hugged him back, knowing that if it had been Sirius by his side, he wouldn't have gone to face what need to happen, one way or another. He hope this was the right decision, especially knowing how hard it would be on Remus if he had to tell the other that he had really died.

"Times up Harry," Voldemort said, raising his wand as if to make his point clear. "May this death be on your head as much as mine."

"Stop," Harry said in a hollow voice, force his legs to move, his heart hammering in his chest.

"So predictable," Voldemort smiled at him without any humor. "And dying for something so worthless."

"He's only worthless to you," Harry said, force the words to come out of his mouth, willing himself not to show any fear. His wand was in his robe and his hands rested by his side. The future he saw in the book flashed in front of his eyes and he hoped he wasn't giving that up now … he's thoughts went to Ginny and he longed to know how much his feelings will grow for her, knowing now they would, if he only had a chance.

"It seems as if we'll never agree, Harry Potter," Voldemort said, "Avada Kedavra!"

The green light hit him squarely in the chest.

O

It seemed like it took the stroke of a heart beat and a year for him to open his eyes. He remembered the fight, but it didn't seemed to mean as much right now, he was wondering were he was. He was hopeful when he noticed that his mind seemed to be forming the room around him. It was like what happened in the book, but his heart dropped when he realized that he wasn't at King Cross Station.

It seemed to be a room in a quaint cottage somewhere. Though he didn't know where he was and he knew he should be worried, he couldn't seem to manage to me. At least he wasn't until he heard a cry from another room, the shrill voice was inhuman.

"Don't worry, it could no longer hurt anyone," a voice said from the opposite doorway that Harry was looking at. Harry quickly turned around to see a man with messy hair and hazel eyes, his noise was a little broader than Harry's but otherwise they looked almost alike, only this man was a few inches taller.

"Dad?" Harry guessed, he could feel tears of joy and fear fill him as he looked at his dead father.

"I'm so proud of you Harry," James smiled, walking towards his son and then taking a seat next to Harry on the couch. "You're willingness to do whatever it took for those that you love … you've become the man I knew you would be at birth."

"Am I dead?" Harry questioned, because he needed to know.

"You know the answer to that already," James said to him with a smile. "You had Lily and I worried there for a minute, but it worked just as it had before …"

"You know about the book?" Harry questioned.

"We've kept a close eye on you, Harry," a new voice said and Harry looked up to see his mum walk into the room, her emerald eyes just like his own, and he wished that he could just stay here and look at her for a long time. Lily sat next to him, and Harry found that he was hugging her, wondering how this could feel so real …

"Do you know what's going to happen next?" Harry questioned, again he wasn't sure if it was a second or a year later. "Can you tell me …?"

"We can't see the future," James sighed, "I'm sorry."

"No, it's okay, I was just hoping," Harry shrugged. And as he looked at them watching him, he knew that his time with them was running out. "I'm going to have to go back … aren't I?"

"Of course you have a choice, but you know it's not your time yet," Lily said sadly and Harry knew she was right, but he didn't want to leave, not yet.

"I remember when you nine months old," James said suddenly, catching Harry off guard, but he looked at his dad expectingly. "It was the first time you showed signs of magic. Sirius thought that he would be funny and he tried to surprise you. I have no idea how, but somehow you turned his hair a nice kellygreen color. I couldn't breath for a full minute after that … I've never been so proud in my life. I was sure you would have been a prankster for sure," James finished still chuckling, but his eyes had grown sad, Harry hadn't had the chance to goof off in his life.

"I remember the first time you took your father's wand," Lily said next and Harry already started to smile. His mum and dad told him as many memories as they could and he drank in their words as he looked at them. The old memories was great, but he knew this memory was going to be just as good, remembering their smiles and their love he could see.

Then he knew the time had come that he had to go back. He turned to his mum then and hugged her again, wishing that he didn't have to let go, "you saved my life, you know that don't you?"

"I love you," was the only thing she said to that, her words filling his heart. He had never thought he would hear them … not from his mum.

"I love you, too," Harry said to hear and the turned to his dad. "I love you."

"Please look after Sirius and Remus for me," James said, before hugging his son, "and yourself. I don't want to see you again for a century. I love you son."

As he pulled away from his father his vision of the cottage faded and he knew he was gaining consciousness again.

**A/N: I'm not sure if this came across as believable, but I saw from the beginning that Harry would 'die' at the end of the Fifth year though I had no idea how I was going to do it until I started writing it. I'm not sure if I like this chapter myself … but this is what came out. I have always believed that it was the fact that Lily had sacrificed her life to save Harry and the fact that Voldemort took Harry's blood that made Harry live, when he should have died, so that's what I've shown here. I had also thought that Harry would see his parents this time around because, for one they were the only once that have died so far (besides Cedric but that wouldn't have mad sense) and because it would mean something to Harry. I didn't plan for it to go the way it did … but again this is what came out when I started writing. I hope you like it. **


	18. Waking Up

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Eighteen

Waking Up

"What do you mean you let him get hit by the Killing Curse!" Harry heard someone demand when he started gaining consciousness, but his eyelids where too heavy to open at the moment. He was sure the one that he was hearing was Molly though, her shrill voice was followed closely by Sirius.

"Has he moved yet?" his godfather's tone was just as shrills as Molly's was.

"No …" Remus said in a very distant voice, and Harry had a feeling that Remus was terrified that he had been killed by the curse.

"Mhmah," Harry tried to talk, wanting them to know that he was okay, that they didn't have to worry about him, but his mouth didn't seemed to want to form the words that he was thinking.

"HARRY!" a mixture of voice said and he knew that the others ran towards him until they were kneeling at his side.

"Harry! Can you hear me?" Sirius asked.

He opened his eyes then, and cleared his throat, "yeah."

"Merlin Harry … you nearly gave me a heart failure!" Sirius said, lifting the boy up so he could hug him closely to him and Harry's arms, weak as they still were, returned the hug. As soon as his godfather let him go, Molly was hugging him and then Remus.

"Where are the others?" Harry asked, looking around the room.

"They're probably still trying to get out of the Department of Mystery," Sirius said. "I don't know what was wrong with that place but it was impossible to move."

"How did you get here then?" Harry asked, feeling confused and started to take in his surroundings, he noticed first that Hagrid, who wasn't moving except for his steady breathing. He then noticed there were several other wizards in the room, including Fudge, who was muttering, "I saw him … you-know-who …"

Sirius noticed what Harry was looking at and paled, he had forgot in his worry for Harry that he was wanted by the Ministry and hurried to got up to go behind the desk that Harry had hidden behind early.

"We followed Remus as soon as we realized that you were gone," Molly answered, "I was checking to make sure that Siri … er … well, you know … was okay at first …" she trailed off and she was suddenly glaring at Harry. "What were you thinking running after a Death Eater?"

Harry winched at the questioned.

"He was bewitched," Remus answered. "They wanted to get him on his own … Obviously they thought that Harry would have given himself up to save one of his friends, not that they were going to honor that agreement afterward."

"What …?" Harry started to ask.

"As soon as the curse hit you Harry, Bellatrix had sent a curse at me," Remus explained. "I'm sure she would have tried to kill both Hagrid and myself if Voldemort hadn't fallen when you did. She was too worried about her Dark Lord to care about me. Well she cared about me, because I was trying to stop her, but she made the statue come to life and it attacked me while she gathered up Voldemort and took him to the fire place.

"The only good thing that came of all this is that before she could leave the Ministry people showed up," Remus nodded his head towards the mention people, who were now starting to walk towards them. "Bellatrix fired a curse at them and I saw Voldemort open his eyes and. He obviously realized what the situation was and then he and Bellatrix were gone."

"That's when we got here," Molly said.

"I was so worry when you didn't move," Remus mumbled, "I thought you and Voldemort would wake at the same time …"

"Sorry," Harry sighed, noticing that the two of them were looking at him with expression that started clearly that they believe he was dead just a few second ago. Suddenly he was licked in the face and he turned to come eye to eye with Sirius in dog form. Harry sighed, and put his arms around the dog. "I'm okay boy," he told his godfather, taken comfort by being this close. He remembered clearly the Killing Curse that had missed his godfather by inches and was glad that he hadn't lost Sirius.

"What is the meaning of this?" Fudge suddenly demanded and then his eyes rested on Harry and his mouth dropped.

"If you give me a few minutes, I will explained everything," a new voice said and everyone turned to look at Albus Dumbledore, whose eyes were on Harry, a relieved look in them.

"Dumbledore!" Fudge gasped, looking more confused and worried than ever.

"And this time you're going to listen to what I have to say," Dumbledore said more sternly, "but first, Harry needs to get back to Hogwarts … Molly, Remus would you like to go back with him."

"Yes," Molly answered and Remus nodded his head, as Sirius barked.

"I would like you to stay," Dumbledore said to the dog and Fudge looked oddly between the old wizard and the dog. "If things work out as they should, you should be free by the end of the night."

Sirius barked again in what seemed to be a happy way, but he looked longingly at Harry.

"Don't worry, I'm okay," Harry repeated to him, patting him on the head. "And the sooner you're free the better for everyone."

Sirius licked Harry again, causing the boy to make a face as Dumbledore made them all a portkey (Fudge didn't seem pleased about that but no one paid him any attention). Dumbledore put the portkeey in Hagrid hands, his eyes was filled with concern for his old friend, and then he motioned the others to take a hold of the portkey. Within seconds they were in the hospital wing at Hogwarts.

"What's going on?" Madam Pomfrey asked as she came out of her office at the sudden noise. "Remus … what are you doing here?"

"Hagrid was hurt," Molly said before Remus could think of anything to say to the nurse that used to help him after his transformations. "And you should probably look at Harry too."

"I see," Pomfrey said, and she was suddenly all business as she checked over the half giant. She did show a grimace when she first looked at Hagrid, before she got to work on him, healing most of the minor cuts and bruises, but serious one would take potions to heal. Before she could even wave her wand for the needed potions, Molly was handing them to her, having known what would be needed. The nurse raised an eyebrow at her, but started applying the medicine to her patient.

Once she was satisfied with her treatment of Hagrid, she turned to Harry, examining his wounds. There wasn't much for her to do, but she was stumped when she looked at his chest and tried to heal the bruise and cut that was there. The bruise vanished as it should but nothing she did to the cut helped.

"I don't think you can heal that," Harry said looking at the cut, it wasn't in a lightning bolt shape as the scar on his forehead was, no it was an almost vertical line about an inch long. Still, he was sure the after effects of the second Killing Curse he survived would not be healed anymore than the first had. At least this time he knew that a Horcrux hadn't been transferred into him. Harry had to smile as he realized that his soul was now completely his own again … he would never have to worry about that monster being a part of him again, nor the fact that he was tendering Voldemort to this world.

"I don't see why you're smiling," the nurse huffed, "you've collected too many scars as it is. What caused this anyway … I've never seen anything like it …"

"The Killing Curse," Harry answered before he could even think, and Pomfrey's eyes widened.

"What?" she gasped, her eyes on the scar again. She tried to regain her calm but her voice was still shocked when she forced herself to say, "well that explains it then."

"You're not even going to ask how he's still alive?" Remus questioned walking towards the bed, his wand in his hand and the nurse shrugged.

"It seems like Voldemort has a block when it comes to killing me," Harry said simply.

"Well we're all grateful for that, now you really should lay down, I can't be sure but it has to take a lot out of you to be hit by that curse," the nurse said, this time her brisk demeanor returning to her.

"Actually, there's should be a few visitors coming to visit him any minute now," Remus said, and smiled sheepishly when Madam Pomfrey glared at him. "His friends will want to know that he's okay."

"This is what I get for letting your friends visit you," the nurse shook her head walking towards her office. "I'll have to make more potions for Hagrid so make sure that no one is too loud or I will kick you all out."

"Thanks," Remus smiled at her, she had always been stern, but he knew she had a soft heart.

"She is right, Harry, you really should rest," Molly said, seating next to him like she had only a year ago. "You've been through a lot."

"Yeah," Harry agreed but he wanted to see his friends. He got his wish as only a few minutes later the hospital wing doors open and he was surrounded by his friend.

"Harry! What happened?" Ginny demanded first.

"Why are you in the hospital?" Hermione was right on her heals, closely followed by Ron, Fred, George and even Neville and Luna. They must have all been in Dumbledore office still when Remus had sent a Patronus to tell them that Harry was back, but in the hospital.

"I wasn't hurt much," Harry told them, "it's just a precaution to dying."

"Dying?" Ron gulped, looking into Harry's eyes and then paling farther.

"I'm now the boy who lived twice," Harry said, opening his shirt to show them the new scar he had gain. He wasn't sure why he was acting so bluntly, but he was too tried to beat around the bush right now, and he wanted them to understand what had happened as soon as possible.

"I'm okay," Harry assured them, as everyone looked at him in shock.

"I don't understand," Neville said confused. "You die?"

"Not really," Harry looked at his friend that had no idea about the book, so couldn't understand the full meaning of what he was saying.

"No … he was just hit by the Killing Curse again," Fred said bluntly and Neville's mouth dropped.

"But how …?"

"It's a long story," Harry shrugged.

"But you're okay now, right," Ginny asked, looking at him concerned.

"Of course he's not, he's just sitting up and talking to us," George said rolling his eyes at his sister as she glared at him.

"You seem as if something has been lifted off you," Luna noted, her dreaming eyes piercing him as if she could tell that the Horcrux was gone, but of course she couldn't … right?

"That means it's gone …" Hermione gasped, Ron's arms where wrapped around her and Harry wasn't sure which one of his friends was supporting the other. "You don't have to worry … about it."

"Exactly," Harry smiled at her, knowing that the Weasleys understood she was talking about the Horcrux in him and Neville looked confused. Luna looked unperturbed and was now looking over to where Hagrid laid, her expression unusually (though understandably) sad.

"Hagrid!" a few people gasped, obviously they hadn't noticed him when they first came because they were worried about Harry.

"Is he all right?" Hermione questioned, she seemed to be in near tears just looking at him.

"I think so," Harry answered grimly, "at least Madam Pomfrey said he was healing."

"So he really was taken," Ron sighed and Harry nodded his head. "You have no idea how hard it was, mate … waiting in Dumbledore's office not knowing what was going on. It's a lot worst than being in the thick of things … being by your side we don't have time to think about all the things that could go wrong, but in that room all we had to do was worried about everything happening."

"I'm sorry mate," Harry sighed.

"It's much better to worry than for you to be in actually danger," Molly said sharply to her son. "Trust me, I've done enough worrying about you and Harry for a lifetime."

Ron shrugged, but couldn't help but smile sheepishly at his mum.

"I'm glad you're okay, Mum," Ron said, "do you know how the others are?"

"Mad-eye was stun and Kingsley had a nasty curse put on him form what I could tell," Remus answered, "but both of them should be fine. I'm sure that Dumbledore had taken care of the Death Eaters once he he got there, but I ran after Harry before I could make sure about that."

"Ran after Harry?" Fred questioned. "What kind of trouble did Harrykins get into."

"A lot," Molly grumbled, and Harry told them the story of everything that happened up until the point that he was killed by the Killing Curse.

"Did you see something when the curse hit you?" Hermione asked softly and was surprised when Harry smiled, sad and yet happily at the same time.

"I saw my parents," Harry explained and then he looked at Remus. "Was my first sign of magic really to turn Sirius's hair green?"

Remus looked shocked at first and then he laughed, "I forgot about that. Yeah, it was … and it was hysterical."

"Dad said that he was convince I would be just like the marauders after that," Harry said and Remus nodded his head in agreement to that, and Harry's heart filled more than it had before, because those were real memories … memories that were now his and he could enjoy them.

"Though Lily seemed to be dead set to discourage that," Remus added.

"Why?" Fred and George complained.

"I can't think of better role models," Fred added.

"You won't," Molly glared at her son, noticing Harry's smile and letting him have time with the memories of seeing his parents. They all talked for a while before Madam Pomfrey came back and told everyone that Harry really needed to rest now. Harry didn't mind much, he really was tired.

O

In the morning Harry was greeted by the sight of Albus Dumbledore. He quickly put on his glasses and noticed that they were alone.

"Good morning, Harry," Dumbledore said gravely.

"Morning, Sir?" Harry said confused as to why Dumbledore looked so upset, starting to worry that something might have happened at the Ministry that he wouldn't like.

Dumbledore smiled at him, "it seems that you have noticed my concerned look, but I have not come here to give you bad news. I'm actually happy to inform you that everyone from the Order that went to the Ministry is fine, though Kingsley had been taken to St. Mungo to recover. I have had a word with Fudge and as we speak, all of Sirius's charges are being dropped. There is the matter of him being an illegal Animagus, but that issue had been … put aside compared to the horrible crime of sending an innocent man to Azkaban, in a top security cell, for twelve years.

"He's outside your room right now, but I've asked to talk to you first," Dumbledore continued looking grave again. "It seems that I have underestimated Voldemort this time, and it had nearly cast you your life. I'm sorry Harry, for not seeing this … not taking your concerns for Hagrid safety more closely. I was sure that he was just trying to get you to the Ministry … I didn't think that he would …"

"Sir," Harry interrupted him. "You can't know everything that happened. This isn't your fault."

Dumbledore gave him a weak smile. "No, I can't know everything, but I should have realized that Voldemort would except you to come to me and would plan accordingly. I'm only grateful that you were able to survive the encounter."

Harry took this as his cue, and told Dumbledore everything that had happened to him. Dumbledore nodded his head, as if he expected everything that had been said, but pleased to have the details.

"I believe that you are lucky that you'll no longer be able to share Voldemort's emotions," Dumbledore said after they were finished as he got up to leave. When Harry looked at him confused he added, "I would assume right now Voldemort is confused by the fact that your death has yet to be announced in the _Daily Profit_ …"

"He doesn't know I'm alive!" Harry questioned in surprise.

"Not as of yet, but he's sure to learn that soon," Dumbledore said. "As for now, he will assume the Ministry is covering up your death because it would cause even more of a panic than his return alone would have. It helps of course that the Ministry in fact would have done that if you were to die, but for now he his blissfully unaware."

"You're right, I'm glad I can't feel his emotions anymore," Harry said, thinking of the angry and pain he would have felt once Voldemort learned the truth. "I wonder what he's going to think after his second Killing Curse failed to work on me."

"I don't know," Dumbledore said, "but it is sure to make him even more afraid of you and the prophecy he still hasn't had a chance to hear. Of course Voldemort afraid only makes him more dangerous."

Harry sighed his agreement at that. Dumbledore sighed too, and said good bye and Harry was relieved when Sirius came into the hospital … glad that he was able to see his godfather at Hogwarts and that he wouldn't be in any danger.


	19. Hagrid's Capture

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Nineteen

Hagrid's Capture

"Harry, I'm still not sure we should be here?" Ron said as they made their way through the first trees of the Forbidden Forest, Harry was a few paces in front of his two best friends as he walked briskly.

"I promised Hagrid I would visit …" Harry started to say.

"He didn't ask you to do this when he woke up," Ron interrupted him, "He's only been gone for two days … I'm sure Grawp will be fine …"

"I just want to tell Hagrid something that's good," Harry sighed, closing his eyes as he remembered how small and weak Hagrid had looked before he woke up in the hospital wing the other day. He never thought the half giant could look small, but he had. Then when Hagrid told them what happened, how he was captured … Harry flinched at that memory.

_After running through the gates of Hogwarts Hagrid paused, not sure which way he should go. He knew that the Ministry would be after him, and he had no way to conceal himself from them so he decided that the mountains were probably the best place. Sirius had said that it was a good place to hide after all, and he knew how to take care of himself there. He wasn't able to relax until nearly sunrise, as he sat in a cave, his mind racing with angry at the thought of what Umbridge had done. She had come in the middle of the night knowing full well that she was going to attack him. He drifted off to an uneasy sleep as he thought of things he would like to have done to the stupid toad. _

_He was woken by the sound of foot steps and he knew that he was found. He had never expected the Ministry gits to find him, but there was nothing for it now. He moved more quietly than a half giant should be able to a hidden corner of the room and prepared himself to fight, but almost immediately felt tense with shock. These weren't Ministry wizards, but Death Eaters. _

_He had tried to fight, and even managed to knock one Death Eater unconscious, breaking several of his bones, but the other three Death Eaters that were there, were vicious with their spells. Instead of trying to Stun him like the Ministry wizards had, they used serve cutting hexes and the blasting curse. They didn't effect him as much as they would a normal person because his thick skin he inherited from his mother, but they hurt none the less. Especially after he had been hit so many times he could no longer count. _

_They must have stun him, probably all at the same time, because the next he knew he was looking in the face of Lord Voldemort himself. His cold red eyes looked calculating as he smiled causally at Hagrid. _

"_It's funny how we meet again, Hagrid," Voldemort said, his high pitch voice filling Hagrid with chills though he was too angry to be afraid at the moment. He struggled against the magical chains that prevent him for punching the dark wizard in front of him. As he tried to shout insults at Voldemort, he found that he couldn't speak. All he could do was glare murderous at Voldemort. _

_His struggle only seemed to cause Voldemort to smile, before he went on with the prattle he had to say. "I never imagined that you would have any use to me again, and yet here you are. First a scape goat and now bait." _

_Hagrid eyes widened, but he wasn't sure what Voldemort had meant by that. _

"_You're my insurance that I'm going to win the fight, Hagrid," Voldemort said, kneeling closely to Hagrid's head and looking the half giant in the eyes, taken pleasure form the pain that he was causing. "As we speak, Harry Potter is going to the Ministry to try to rescue you. He might even know that you aren't there … he might believe that you are safe, hiding from the Ministry. It matters little, because it all amounts to the same in the end. Potter is walking into my trap, and because he has gone to the old fool," he paused here as Hagrid struggled again, knowing that he was talking about Dumbledore. Voldemort's smile widened. "He thinks that it's enough to have Dumbledore with him. That the old man can stop me, but I'm two steps ahead of him._

"_The old fool thinks that my only goal is to get the prophecy … he doesn't see that if I kill the boy, the prophecy won't matter at all. And Hagrid, with your help, I'll be sure to kill the boy." _

_Hagrid struggled more than every, he couldn't let this happen. _

"_It's useless, you won't break free of the spell," Voldemort sneered. "Just as the boy won't be able to prevent himself from saving you at the risk of his own life. But don't worry Hagrid, I won't let you suffer with the pain of being the reason Potter will die …"_

"_My Lord," there was a voice at the door and Voldemort walked away from Hagrid. _

"_Severus, come in," Voldemort said, watching the man in front of him closely. Snape had proven himself useful over the last year, but there was always the lingering doubt that the old fool had turned his servant against him. It was time to see if that was really the case. _

"_My Lord," Snape inclined his head slightly and then his eyes rested on Hagrid's. He raised an eyebrow, not portraying his shock or pity at all, "I see that you really have captured the halfbreed after all." _

"_Yes, I thought he might be useful," Voldemort said calmly as Snape looked back at him. _

"_Dumbledore has just left to go to the Ministry," Snape said. "I would have come sooner, but I could not with him keeping an eye on me. The order of the Phoenix have gone with Potter in the disguise of Potter's friends …"_

"_Interesting," Voldemort said, "I have to give the old man credit, it's a good plan." _

"_Sir?" Severus said, this time not hiding his shock, but Voldemort had expected him to be shocked by his words. _

"_Your information has been very useful, Severus, you may go," Voldemort said and Snape left, knowing it unwise to stay, but longing to know what Voldemort had plan. Whatever it was, it was obvious not good … and it was something that Dumbledore had not anticipated. He longed to contact Dumbledore, but he knew he couldn't. Voldemort was keeping an eye on him. Whatever was going to happen, he had to let happen. He had to trust Dumbledore and Potter to get out of this. _

_Once Snape had left the room, Voldemort had turned to Hagrid, a potion in his hand. "It's almost time Hagrid. Dumbledore has made a good showing of it, I expect my Death Eaters won't know what hit them, but I will still get what I want in the end. Bellatrix will make sure of that."_

_Voldemort than gave Hagrid the potion in his hand and it was like flames were eating him up inside. He screamed, though is voice couldn't be heard and it took several minutes for him to past out from the pain. The next thing he would know, was waking up in the hospital wing at Hogwarts, demanding to be told what happened to Harry, and the relief he felt when the boy was the one to answer his question. _

This wasn't exactly what Harry had been told, as he walked through the woods but most of it was. Hagrid was good at telling story, even ones like these when it was filled with such horrible thing. He remembered Hagrid's horrified expression as Harry told him what had happened after Voldemort had gotten to the Ministry. It had been enough to motivate him to come to the forest to find Hagrid's younger brother to make sure he was all right.

"Harry," Hermione voice broke through Harry's thoughts and he looked at her. "Look," she said in a shaky voice as she pointed to a spot on the floor. He was confused for a second until he realized that it was a foot print … Grawp's foot print. "You don't think he's loose do you?"

"He might be," Harry said, he couldn't stop the shakiness of his own voice. He had not reckon on meeting a giant that could roam around the forest freely.

"This is not good … I think we should go back," Ron said.

Harry looked at his friends and he could see that Hermione agreed with Ron, but before he could make up his mind about what to do, he heard a odd sound. As the sound registered he found himself walking towards it, stopping when he saw the huge form that would have looked like a mound if it wasn't shaking so much.

"Oh Merlin," Ron gasped at Harry's shoulder, it was the first time he got to see the giant.

Grawp looked up at them, there were arrow littering his body and he was covered in blood and dirt. However, what was most notable about him (at least to Harry) was that there were tears in his eyes.

"Hermy!" the giant said when he notice them and his voice sudden almost relived. "Where Hagger?"

"He remembered," Hermione gasped in shock, before addressing the giant. She felt that since he asked her, she should be the one to answer, though she had to struggle to make her voice even. Before she got the chance Grawp was talking again.

"Grawp want Hagger," the giant wailed this time, fresh tears in his eyes.

"Hagrid was hurt, but he's going to be okay, he's going to come and visit you soon," Hermione finally said, trying to reassure him, though still terrified of the giant.

"WHO HURT HAGGER!" the giant roared, pounding his fist on the ground in a rage that made the trio back away from him slightly.

"A bad man," Harry answered this time. "But Hagrid is going to be okay!"

Grawp looked like this was all too much for him and he repeated, "Grawp want Hagger."

"And I know that Hagrid wants to see you too," Harry said, at a lost of what he could do now.

"Grawp, what happened to you?" Hermione tried to change the subject, not really sure if the giant understood her, but wanting to make sure that he wouldn't get angry again.

"Ponies hurt Grawp," the giant said raising his arms to show them all the arrows in them. "Grawp hurt ponies."

"Pony?" Ron questioned.

"The centaurs, I hope he didn't kill them," Hermione sighed and then pulled out her wand. She was surprised by how much Grawp understood, and realized that Hagrid's English lessons had worked pretty well.

"Maybe you should put your wand away," Ron said nervous and she then noticed that Grawps eyes were on it, and he looked angry again.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Hermione tried to assure the giant. "I just want to get take the arrows out of you so they won't hurt you anymore."

Grawp didn't look appeased by that, he looked more upset than before.

"I think it's too much for him to take right now," Harry said but Hermione was already casting the spell.

Grawp roared in pain as the arrow's flew out of him, and slammed his hands against the ground, pushing himself up so he was standing at his full height. The trio back farther away from him in fear, but Grawp was now looking confused. He looked at his now arrow free arms and started to laugh.

"Grawp better?" the gaint said in surprise, waving his arms around before laughing again. The trio took a breath to signify their relieve and he looked at them again. "Want Hagger?"

"He'll be here tomorrow," Harry promised the giant and Grawp bowed his head and sat back down.

The trio took this as a cue to go and walked away, not turning their backs on the giant until he was out of sight and soon they were out of the forest. They went immediately to the hospital wing to tell Hagrid what happened (who was upset with the centaur for shooting his brother) and smiled with tears in his eyes when he realized that his brother missed him.

"He's a good lad," Hagrid said fondly, tears still in his eyes. "And Popey has just told me that I can leave after dinner … I'll go and visit him then … I'll like that."

"I know Grawp will like that too," Harry said.

O

Two days after the visit to the forest everyone found themselves on the Hogwart's Express heading back to their homes. Harry was going to be staying with Sirius at Grimmauld Place, as Dumbledore wasn't sure how strong the blood wards will be now after everything that happened at the Ministry. Harry guessed that Dumbledore might have agreed to this for more reasons than that, knowing how much Harry wanted to be with his godfather and how horrible it had been for him at the Dursley, but he was glad of the excuse that Dumbledore gave.

The train ride back to London was filled with small talk with friends, playing exploding snap and wizarding chess. The twins had come into their compartment at one point with mock tears in their eyes at this being the last time they would ride the famous train, before they ran off to spend what little time they had left with the remaining seventh years. Though the rest of the people on the train seemed to be silent and scared, having just come to terms with Voldemort's return, Harry felt good. Not about Voldemort's return of course, especially anytime he realized that bad things were going to happen soon. He was happy that no one had dead this year … at least not permanently. That he will be living with his godfather instead of his horrible relative. That his friends were able to laugh and joke with him.

"Are you coming," Ginny asked, they were in King's Cross station.

"Yeah," Harry smiled at her, as he realized another thing he was happy about.

They walked off the train holding hands and were met by the Weasleys, Remus, Tonks and Sirius. Everyone in the crow was looking at Sirius, who was pointedly not paying them any attention. It had been in the news the other day that he was innocent of all the crimes that he had been charged with, and a new warrant going out for Peter Pettigrew, the really corput of the crime. Still, Harry knew it will take a long time for people to get over the fear them had of Sirius Black. He didn't care at all about the others though, he was just glad that he was finally able to hug his godfather in public.

**A/N: Okay, seeing as this is the end of the Fifth year, I'm going to take two weeks off so I can have time to think about what I'm going to do with Sixth year. If I'm honest, I've only thought of this story up until this point so I'm not sure what's going to happen now, but we'll all see soon enough I guess. **

**I'm not sure if the whole Grawp scene would have ever happened like that, I might be too optimistic about his understand of the English language and his ability to not smash everything. Basically, I wanted to explain how Hagrid got captured by Death Eaters and somehow it turned into a flashback of what Harry thought as he was going to visit Grawp. I hope you all liked it. **


	20. Severus Snape

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to SingularityStar, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty

Severus Snape

The last few weeks have not been good to Snape. First there was the whole Ministry debacle where his wits had been tested. He had to proved to the Dark Lord that he was on his side all the while trying to figure out what was going on so he could help Dumbledore. In the end he was only able to keep the Dark Lord from finding out about him, because the only reason the boy had gotten out of the danger before him was luck. Well, more than luck, but it had nothing to do with Snape's information or advice. It was a close call and one that will never be able to happen again.

The next issue that had come up for him was infinitely more dangerous and something that he dreaded doing more than anything else in the world. It had been clear that immediately after the battle at the Department of Ministry, as it was now being called, Voldemort had believe that he had accomplish his task and killed the boy. It was also clear that the Dark Lord would find out at some point that this wasn't the case, and because of his position at Hogwarts it would look bad for him if he wasn't the one to tell him. Snape wasn't a foolish man, so he knew that if he didn't handle this just right he would be killed by the wrath of the Dark Lord hearing this news.

He had at first tried to talk to Dumbledore and get the headmaster to hide the boy somewhere, an unknown threat to the Dark Lord. Dumbledore didn't think that was a good idea, for they didn't know how long the fighting would go on or when they would have a chance to destroy the Horcruxes. He admitted that it might have been safer for the boy, but the fact that this will unhinged the Dark Lord, make him react more rashly might be to their advantage. A man that is afraid is more likely to make a mistake. Both of them knew that this also made the Dark Lord more dangerous, but they hoped the war would be over before that happens.

So in the end Snape did the only thing he could think of, he sent an owl to the Dark Lord telling him about the boy surviving, again knowing that if he was in the same room as the Dark Lord he would have been killed. He was summoned by his master probably the moment the owl had reached him. His dark mark burning with a kind of fury … or perhaps that was just Snape's mind playing tricks on him because he knew how furious the Dark Lord was going to be. But Snape had no choice … he had to go.

"My Lord," Snape said as he bowed to the snake like man.

"What is the meaning of this letter?" Voldemort asked in a deathly calm voice, his eyes flashing there deadliest red. "How is it that you report that Harry Potter is at Hogwarts … still alive?"

"Because he is, sir," Snape said, trying to mask all the fear he had but he knew it wasn't enough. The Dark Lord could see through him right now, or at leas the mask that covered his fear. The one that wrapped around his true intent in concerns of his loyalty, was never touched. "I saw the boy myself."

"That is impossible!" Voldemort hissed, his hands gripping his wand and sparks shot out of it. "I killed him … it's impossible that he would survive … not again when he no longer has any protection."

"Dumbledore believes that he did have protection … and he may yet still," Snape said in a whisper of a voice, trying not to anger the man that was so close to cursing him.

"What? How?" Voldemort demanded, his mind reeling.

"Dumbledore said something about blood protection, but he didn't tell me exactly what he meant," Snape said looking like he was trying to think of something but really he made his mind blink not letting any of the secrets he knew out.

"The old fool … what I did should have made them useless … but if he did something to them … ?" Voldemort was talking more to himself than to Snape. And then he looked up at Snape and demaned, "I need you to find out what Dumbledore has done … he must have done something to save the boy."

"Sir, if he doesn't want to tell me …" Snape started to say.

"Then make him!" Voldemort said. "I need to know how Potter survived. Do not fail me Severus, you know that I don't like failure."

"Yes my Lord," Snape gulped and left the room as quickly as he could go, feeling lucky that he hadn't been curse at all though he could tell that the Dark Lord was thinking hard about the information that Snape had giving him. And that he was going to do something about it.

It wasn't for another week that he found out, at least to a point, what Voldemort had in mind. He wanted Dumbledore to taken care of. Even with the boy living, the Dark Lord had still believed that Dumbledore was his biggest threat. He believed that the only reason why the boy was still alive was because of Dumbledore, so he was going to remove him. Snape only had a few hours warning but he felt that it just might be enough to make sure that this would only backfire in the Dark Lord's face.

"Severus?" Narcissa asked looking puzzled, but still opened the door wider to let him in. "What are you doing here?"

"I would like to speak to Draco if it is at all possible?" Snape asked as politely as possible and waited for the door to close before he asked in a whisper, "are we alone in here … or are other relative of yours near here?"

"Only Draco and I are here," Narcissa said said looking alarmed.

"Good," Snape said, but didn't elaborate, waiting until Draco got there. He wasn't sure how much he should say in front of Narcissa, not knowing what she would choice to do with her information. It took a few minutes for the boy to show up and when he did he looked at his Professor with a questioning look.

"What are you doing there?" Draco asked suspiciously, trying to figure out what was happening.

"I'm sure that you're are both aware that the Dark Lord has not been pleased about what has happened in the past, especially the most recent attack on the Ministry," Snape said, going straight to business because he didn't have time for anything else now.

"Yes," Draco said before his mum could do anything other than to look at Snape with shock.

"I wonder if you have noticed a difference in Lucius status than it was before?" he went on, this time addressing his question to Narcissa. "That Dark Lord had not favored him as much as he had before."

"Of course I noticed that," Narcissa said, "and even if I didn't, Lucius had told me enough about it, to know that was true. But I don't understand why you are here, Snape. Lucius was captured … the Ministry has labeled him as a Death Eater, and given him a sentence …"

"I sorry for bring this up, but I needed to make sure you understood," Snape said. "I have just been informed that Draco will be asked to join the ranks of the Death Eaters …"

"No!" Narcissa moaned miserably. "He's too young …"

Draco didn't say anything as his mum ranted her worries. He was too numb to really hear what she had to say. He had chosen a few months ago not to be on the Dark Lord's side, that he would even help Potter out. And now he was going to be asked to be a Death Eater … this could not end well for him.

"What if I refuse?" Draco asked, gulping because he knew the answer before Snape said it.

"You can't refused … the Dark Lord will not allow it. Especially not with what he has planned for you," Snape said.

"What does he have plan for me?" Draco questioned.

"He's going to give you a task that is impossible for you to do, and tell you that you will earn your family glory if you accomplish it," Snape said, well aware of Narcissa's cold glaze at him. She seemed to be thinking … putting the pieces together and that was very dangerous to him.

"What?" Draco asked again.

"He's going to give you the task of killing Dumbledore," Snape said.

"That can't possibly be true," Narcissa said. "How could Draco … when so many have … it's just not possible!"

"Why is it so impossible to believe," Draco said and his voice sounded a little hurt that his mum didn't believe in his abilities. "As a student, Dumbledore would never see it coming. I'm the prefect agent for the task … though I'm surprised that the Dark Lord didn't ask you to do it, Snape."

"I half believe that he thinks I will end up doing it," Snape said calmly. "And the task … I think he wants you to fail."

Draco was pensive for a long time, trying to think about everything that Snape was saying and what he wasn't saying. "The Dark Lord is probably going to give me this task … and surly you're only putting yourself in more danger by coming here."

"Can I have a private word?" Snape asked Draco while he looked at Narcissa, who didn't look please, but let them be alone.

"What is it?" Draco asked.

"I don't think you have grasped the full danger that you're in," Snape said trying to think how best to put this. Finally he gave up and just said it in the bluntest way possible. "You have very little Occlumency skill developed, though it is considerable more so than most people your age. When you face Voldemort he will see that you know more than you should. He will probe your mind farther and see everything."

Draco eyes widen in fear because he knew how disastrous that would be for not only the light side but for himself and his family as well. Voldemort would know that he had decided not to tell him ... that his enemy knew about the Dark Lord's Horcruxes … he would even know that he had chosen to help Potter out.

"What can I do …? I can't talk to him," Draco said in a hoarse voice.

"You can't avoid talking to him," Snape said. "If you leave now, the Dark Lord will think you're up to something … or perhaps you know too much about something. If you stay, he will know that this is true and so much more. However there is something I can do to get you through this meeting."

"What?" Draco asked.

"I will take out all your memories of what happened in the book we read," Snape said. "I can do such a good job that you will have no clue about anything that happen. I will even take out your memories of the times that you thought of the book … or did something … questionable because of the book."

"But won't the Dark Lord noticed?" Draco questioned.

"I don't believe he will, though that doesn't mean that you won't be in danger," Snape said. "You will however, most likely act the part he expects you to."

"What do you mean?" Draco furrowed his eyebrows.

"I anticipate that without the memories of the book, you might look at what happened at the Ministry a little differently," Snape pointed out. "I think you'll be angry about what happened to your father …"

"I am angry about that, now," Draco pointed out.

"That's good," was the only thing Snape had to said to about that. "If the Dark Lord is not suspicious of you he will not noticed the small gaps that will be there with the memories being erased."

"When am I going to get my memories back?" Draco questioned.

"I'm not sure … it might be safest for you if that wasn't until next term started … or if you like we can work on Occlumency, which I highly suggest you learn," Snape said. "If I'm not mistake your mother is good at the skill herself … she might be a good person to go to for help."

"Do you really think that will be smart?" Draco asked. "For what I have learn about Occlumency so far is that the person that is teaching you … well they'll be able to read through your thoughts until you're able to block them. Aren't you afraid that she'll find out too much."

"I've already said too much coming here, Draco," Snape shook his head. "She has already suspicious that I really am a spy … there would be no other reason for me coming here to try to help you. No loyal servant would questioned the Dark Lord's wishes by coming here."

"But you came anyway," Draco said, a little touched that his professor was putting himself at risk for his sake.

"I thought that because your safety was in danger, that the risk was bearable. Your mother will do anything to keep you safe." Snape sighed, not mentioning that letting Draco alone will not only be damaging to Draco but to the whole light side. "She knows that the Dark Lord's request for you is nothing short of a death sentence."

"Sir … if you're going to erase my memory … and then give it back to me later … I'll become a spy like you are right?" Draco questioned.

"Not exactly like me, but yes, you will be a spy," Snape said gravely, he would wish this on no one. "Which is why it's paramount that you learn Occlumency … and though I won't be able to help you until you get back to Hogwarts, I'll teach you how to build a wall that is subtle and slick that no one would think that it's a wall at all."

"What?" Draco said.

"I'll tell you more about it later," Snape shook his head. "I must be leaving soon and I need another word with your mother."

"Okay," Draco said as Snape pulled out his wand to pull out his memories of reading the book and anything linked to it. Before Snape could do it thought he said, "thanks …"

Snape just nodded his head, and flicked his wand and the next thing Draco knew he was alone in the room, it was ten minutes later when his mind was starting to clear after it had been reorganized.

During that time, Snape had left the room and went to find Narcissa, who was in a living room a few rooms away, she was looking thoughtfully into a fire, but she looked up immediately when Snape entered the room.

"I was just thinking … what reason do you have coming here?" Narcissa questioned.

"You know the reason," Snape said evenly, it felt wrong allowing himself be this open, but he had no other choice. He hated that he now had to rely on other people to keep his secret … it was wrong.

"No I don't," Narcissa shook her head. "If you are what I think you are, why risk everything to come to warn Draco … and did you have to speak to Draco alone … what does he know that I don't?"

"More than I can say now," Snape answered, "and Draco is in more danger than you know."

"What kind of danger … why?" Narcissa demanded.

"Let's just say that Draco has already picked his side and it's not the one that everyone thought it would be,"Snape said.

"Impossible," Narcissa said, she knew her son and he would not choice Dumbledore or Potter over the Dark Lord.

"It didn't come to him easily," Snape said, but looking at his watch and knew he had to leave, but first he had to make something clear. "I promise that I'll explain more to you later, but it's not safe for us to talk now. I need you to listen to what I have to say, and know that this is for Draco's best interest."

"What is it?" Narcissa asked coldly, not appreciating that he was using her greatest fear against her.

"It is very important that Draco learns the basic of Occlumency as quickly as possible," Snape said. "And you have to be the one to do it … do not like Bellatrix or anyone else get close to him. I have taken the memories that are dangerous for Draco to have around the Dark Lord, but if he learned from anyone but you, they will notice the gap and think that he's hiding something …"

"I understand," Narcissa said, knowing that her sister wouldn't take it easy on Draco just because they were family.

"I'm sorry that I had to put you in this position," Snape said getting up, and he meant what he said. Out of all the people he had to deal with as a Death Eater, she was his favorite. "You know that you're going to have to make sure that the Dark Lord, or your sister, doesn't know what happen today."

"Yes, I know," Narcissa sighed. "But I will go through it if it's really for Draco's protection," she added looking into Snape's eyes and he could feel that she was trying to read his thoughts … though not through Legilimency, but just by looking.

"It is," Snape promised and then left the manor and hoped that this was going to work.


	21. Summer

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-One

Summer

Harry never thought that staying at Grimmauld Place could be so nice, but for the last month it was nothing but a dream. For the first time in his life, he didn't have to spend any time with the Dursleys, ith a family that so obviously loathed him, and he disliked in return. He got to be around Sirius, who still felt like a mixture of father and a brother to him. Harry had been afraid that Sirius would still be moody about staying at Grimmauld Place, but the few things that had changed had really made a big difference in his godfather.

First of all, Kreacher's behavior since the destruction of the Locket, had been a thousand times better. Though Sirius and Kreacher were never really going to like each other, they no longer argued or called one another names. Sirius had said this was because Kreacher had stopped calling everyone that came to the house by names, whether it was blood traitor, half breed, or Mudblood. The elf didn't even seem to want to use those names anymore. Harry found that the elf really started to like him after he started to compliment the little guy for his cooking or other things that Kreacher did. It really was amazing what a few nice words could do, but Kreacher seemed much closer to the elf he was by the end of the book than he was to the horrible creature he had been when Harry had first meet him.

The other improvement that made Sirius seem so much happier than he had been last year was the fact that he was actually able to leave the house. Sirius didn't, however, appreciate that wherever he went people would look at him, mostly because they seemed to still be afraid of him. Harry was annoyed by this, wishing that everyone would realize that he hadn't been the criminal but the victim of serious misuse of justice but he did have to admit, he did seem to get a lot less stares when he was with his godfather and that wasn't so bad.

His favorite part of living with Sirius, and Remus too whenever he was around (and usually Tonks was there as well), was that it didn't matter what he talked about, he felt like he was at home. He liked it most when Sirius and Remus (because it would happen most when they were together) would talk about their days at Hogwarts and even the few years they had together afterward. Harry loved hearing stories about his family, which wasn't only his mum and dad, but Sirius and Remus too. He liked to hear the pranks that the marauders got up to or the ridiculous ways that his dad had tried to ask his mum out. Harry did his fair share of talking too though.

He told Sirius about his first few years at Hogwarts, and though they weren't amusing stories (there were a few things that had been), Harry felt good about telling Sirius about this. He liked that his godfather would know more about him, and cared for him so much. Though Remus wasn't there for these talks, it was clear that Sirius had told him, but Harry didn't care. He didn't mind that Remus knew, he just told Sirius alone because Remus was gone for weeks at the time. When he asked Remus why he had been gone so long, he explained that Dumbledore wanted him to talk to the werewolves to see if he could make any of them come to the light side. Neither Sirius nor Tonks looked happy about that, or the fact that Remus looked so tired, but they didn't say anything and Harry felt that he shouldn't either.

Even though this summer had been the best of his life, because he was with people that cared about him, Harry was still excited when Sirius told him they were going to the Burrow for his birthday party. He missed his friends a lot, and he missed the building that had been the second home he had ever known.

"HARRY!" he heard several voice said at once, but he couldn't tell who was there because he wasn't wearing his glasses, having put them in his pocket for safe keeping as he flooed to the Burrow. Before he could put his glass on he felt someone hug him and he could tell by the fiery red hair and the small frame that it was Ginny. He wasn't quite sure how it happened, but the next thing he knew he was kissing her a lot more intently than he should have while her family was watching them.

"That's enough," Fred groaned when clearing his throat hadn't worked. Harry looked at him sheepishly as he put his glasses on at last.

"What'd you go and do that for? You should let the poor boy snog his girlfriend," Sirius laughed.

"Well sorry, but we've already had our fill with snogging couples," George said, his voice filled with nothing but amusement as he smirked at Ron and Hermione.

"Yeah, you get a bit wary of it when you can't walk into a room without running into them snogging," Fred added.

"Of course, Bill and the beauty queen don't make it any easier on us," George added gravely.

"Zue are just upzet because zue don't 'ave a girl of zur own," Fleur pointed out, not liking the new nickname that George had given her. Bill and Fleur were staying at the Burrow for the time being, as he tried to buy Shell Cottage.

"I can have any girl I want," George huffed.

"No, I think Fleur's right, you're jealous of all of us happy couples," Ginny grinned at him.

"Don't be so smug … you were just as annoyed as we were the other day," Fred shook his head at his sister.

"That was yesterday," Ginny shrugged, as Harry had returned to standing next to her after hugging all f his friends. She wrapped her arms around him and he couldn't help the smile that came to his face. This promised to be an excellent birthday.

O

For the rest of the summer Harry spent his time between the Burrow and Grimmauld Place. He would usually floo over to the Burrow after breakfast to be with his friends. Hermione had been staying there like she did for most summers now. They would mostly play two aside Quidditch, though occasionally more people would come and they could almost make a full game of it. Harry wondered why he hadn't just done this since the beginning of the summer, but soon found out that Sirius had asked to have a month alone with him, so that they could spend time together before he started doing things for the Order. Since there wasn't any major attack as of that point, it didn't seemed to be such a big deal, but now Sirius was working a lot more for the Order, though he was still around in the night so they could have dinner together.

Harry had expected something to happen sooner than it did, but it still was shocking to see what Voldemort's first open attack was. He had crumbled a bridge and destroyed a town, causing mass muggle deaths and injuries. The attacks were so close together that the Aurors and the Order had little chance of helping and the Death Eaters fled as soon as they got there. The next thing Voldemort did was visit Amelia Bones and kill her. Harry felt horrible about this; he had liked the witch that seemed fair to him during his trial. Sirius said that the fact that she was fair was part of the reason why Voldemort attacked her, she had caused several of the anti muggle laws not to be passed and it didn't help that she was a powerful witch. Voldemort's next attach was infinitely more terrifying for Harry, though it hadn't worked out as Voldemort had intended it to:

"I don't see why you have to be here," Emmeline Vance said in exasperation. "I've never needed any help before."

"Don't look at me, I'm not the one that suggested that I be here," Sirius said with a shrug. "Personally I can see a lot other things that I could do to help the Order better than this."

"Are you saying that this isn't important?" Emmeline demanded.

"No …" Sirius said holding up his hand, in defense of that glare. "I was just agreeing with you … you can handle this mission yourself. I think Dumbledore is just trying to baby me back into working for the Order, as if I need that."

"Maybe he just thinks you're going to be a loose cannon like you were before," Emmeline shrugged, they had known each other having both been part of the Order the last time. They had been friends, but not close.

"I wasn't a loose cannon!" Sirius huffed.

"What do you call running after Pettigrew before you could even let anyone know that you weren't the secret keeper?" Emmeline asked.

"A mistake that I had to live with for a very long time," Sirius said, his expression turning dark.

"I'm sorry … I shouldn't say that," Emmeline sighed.

"No … but you were right, that was stupid," Sirius said. "Though I'd like to see how you would have reacted in my situation."

Emmeline didn't say anything for a long time as she thought of that. "Probably the same way. I surely wanted to see you pay for what I thought you did. I think that's part of the reason you didn't even get a trial …"

"What are you talking about … you didn't make it so I didn't get a trial …" Sirius raised his eyebrow at that.

"Of course not … but I didn't stop it from happening even though I knew it was wrong," Emmeline said. "No one did. We all felt betrayed … we were all angry … it was easier for us to close our eyes to the injustice happening to you. I'm sorry we failed you, Sirius."

"Don't worry about it, Emmeline," Sirius shrugged, he had never really thought to blame the others for what happened to him. Well he blamed the Ministry, but that was about it. What she said made sense though … no one had stuck up for his rights. "I'd rather just forget about all that crap."

"You're definitely more mature than you were before," Emmeline said, looking at him oddly.

"Well I am fourteen years older than I was before, of course I would mature a little," Sirius grinned at her. "I couldn't stay a thoughtless git my whole life."

Emmeline knew it was a lot more than that but she didn't think she should say that … she could tell that he didn't want to talk about this anymore. Besides, it was time for them to do the mission they came here to do. It really wasn't difficult; they just had to make sure that nothing happened at the site that was filled with muggles. They had heard that Voldemort was planning on another mass muggle killing and this was a likely target, but not one of the serious ones.

They were just about getting ready to leave, being satisfied that nothing was going to happen here that night when the back of Sirius's neck started to prickly and he thought he heard a noise behind him … something that sounded like a soft foot step. He pushed Emmeline to the floor without thinking and looked into the space where he thought the noise had come from. After being a dog for so long, he had learned to trust his instincts and he knew that they weren't alone.

"Geesh Sirius, what was that for?" Emmeline said in a grumbling voice, but she wasn't actually upset (well not really, though she didn't know why he had to push her), because she could tell that he thought they were in danger. Sirius pulled out his wand, the one he got from Ollivander's the day he had been cleared of his charges, because he couldn't stand using the one he found in his house. He was pleased when Emmeline pulled out her wand as well, but he was wary that no one had come to challenge them yet.

That didn't last long, it was only a second after his thought that a curse did fly at him. It was a little to the left of where he was looking and he wasn't sure if he'd be able to block it in time. He didn't even have to worry about it though, because Emmeline had already cast the shielding charm over him. He didn't hesitate at all at sending a curse at their attacker. He heard a hiss from the Death Eater meaning that it hit, but before Sirius could even move to see how hurt he was, there was a popping sound. Sirius could just barely make out a second Death Eater standing over the first as they both swirled away apparating.

"We better get out of here too," Emmeline said, grabbing Sirius arm. "I'll take you to my home."

"No … I'll do it," Sirius shook his head and then grabbed her arm as he apparated them both to Grimmauld Place.

"This isn't exactly where I wanted to go," Emmeline said frowning, then she shrugged.

"I don't think you should go home," Sirius said, "Not right now at least."

"Why not?" Emmeline asked.

"The Death Eaters weren't there to cause trouble for muggles, Emmeline," Sirius said grimacing. "Not if they were sneaking up behind us like they did. They were there for us."

Emmeline furrowed her eyes as she took in what he just said. "They knew we, that is to say, that I was going to be there …" she said thoughtfully and Sirius nodded his head.

"And they might not have expect me to be there too," Sirius added to her thought, knowing she was already thinking it.

"No of course not … Dumbledore only ordered you to come with me five minutes before we left, but I was given this task yesterday," Emmeline agreed. "But how did they know I was going to be there … only the Order …"

"Something must have happened," Sirius said looking grim. "I think they were trying to capture you … not kill you … at least not there. The Death Eater didn't try to kill me at least, and he knew that I was looking for him."

Emmeline swallowed at that … being captured by Voldemort was worst than just being killed, but she didn't say anything.

"If you really were their target, it's best that you don't go home right now, they might have people there for you too," Sirius said.

"I suppose you're right … and this is the safest place that we have," Emmeline said. "I suppose it wasn't so bad having you tag along with me today."

"Oi, that's the thanks I get for saving your life," Sirius huffed, throwing up his arms to exaggerate his annoyance. "Women!"

"Now there's the Sirius that I remembered from before," Emmeline chuckled.

"Sirius?" a voice said from the stairs and Harry came down looking at Emmeline a little confused.

"It looks like we're going to have another guest staying with for a little while, Harry," Sirius answered Harry's questioning look.

"Okay," Harry said slowly, still looking confused.

"We were attacked today and I think …" Sirius started to say but stopped when Harry looked at him in alarm. It was nice knowing that Harry cared so much about his safety, but he didn't like that he was making the boy worry. "Don't worry, we got out of there without even a scratch."

"Speak for yourself, I cut my hand when you pushed me down," Emmeline said curtly, smiling at Sirius when he shot her an annoyed glare.

"What happened?" Harry asked and Sirius told him everything. Harry was relieved that it wasn't anything too serious, though he was sure things could have had gone differently if Sirius hadn't acted so quickly.

The remaining few weeks of the summer, Emmeline, stayed with them, and Harry wasn't sure if that was because she had to or that she wanted to. Either way, Sirius seemed to like to have her around, he always had a weird smile on his face when he talked to her. Sirius had the same smile on his face when he told Harry that Dumbledore decided to keep them as partners on Order missions because they seemed to make a good team. Harry wasn't even sure if Sirius knew how much he had been smiling lately, but he was glad, all the same, that his godfather wasn't going to be alone once school had started.


	22. Aboard the Hogwarts' Express

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Two

Aboard the Hogwarts' Express

"So Harry, how was your summer holiday?" Neville asked as he sat across from Harry and Ginny, with Luna sitting next to him on the Hogwarts Express. Ron and Hermione were up in the Prefect compartment, but would be joining the others after they preformed their duties.

"Probably the best of my life," Harry smiled.

Luna then turned her dreamy eyes on him and looked at him closely for a long time. It starting to make him feel uncomfortable.

"Er … Luna?" Harry said in a questioning tone. "What are you looking at?"

"You seem different Harry," Luna said.

"That would be the smile, it's so rarely on his face," Ginny teased and Harry pouted.

"And this coming from my girlfriend," Harry shook his head.

"No … it's not the smile," Luna frowned. "It just seems like you've lost something … a gloom that has hung over you … it doesn't seem to be there anymore. I wonder what it was?"

"It wasn't one of your creatures?" Harry asked, feeling uncomfortable with this line of questioning.

"No. It was something quite unique," Luna said. "I didn't even really notice it before but you look so different now …"

"So what did you do, Harry?" Neville interrupted Luna when he noticed how uncomfortable Harry was.

"I just stayed with my godfather and visited the Weasleys," Harry said. "It doesn't sound like much …"

"It sounds good to me," Neville said and his tone told Harry that his friend understood what this summer was like for him.

"How was your summer?" Harry asked Neville and he shrugged.

"It was alright, Gran didn't like it when I told her that my wand was broken …" Neville started to say.

"You never said that your wand was broken!" Harry said in surprise.

"You had enough to worry about," Neville shrugged.

"How did it break?" Ginny asked.

"I don't know … Kingsley had …" Neville started to explain and then looked at the door as if afraid that someone was going to hear and he wasn't sure that was a good idea.

"Don't worry, I cast a charm that made sure that no one can hear us when we first got here," Harry said.

"Oh … okay," Neville said looking relieved and then continued. "Well anyway, Kingsley asked to use it when hen transformed into me. He said having my wand would make it more convincing that he was me."

"I wonder how he got the wand to work for him," Luna frowned.

"He was close to my dad … they were in Auror training together and he was sure the wand would work well for him," Neville shrugged. "Anyway, Gran was really angry when I told her my wand was broken … I wasn't sure if I should have told her what happened and then Kingsley came by and explained what happened and it was all his fault and Gran seemed to like that I was helping you out.

"And look, I have a new wand now," Neville said reaching into his pocket and pulling out a wand, he was smiling. He had always liked the wand that had once been his dad's, but the new wand he had felt right in his hand like the old one never had. "Everything was better until I got my O.W.L's …"

"You didn't do well?" Harry guessed.

"Not horribly … I got an O in Herbology, and an E in both Charms and Defense … thanks to you of course Harry," Neville said smiling at Harry at the end.

"I didn't do anything," Harry smiled back at his friend. "You're the ones that cast the spells."

"But you're the one that made me believe I could," Neville shrugged.

"Well three O.W.L's isn't so bad … Fred and George only got three O.W.L's," Ginny said to Neville.

Neville frowned, "I just wished that I got an E in Transfiguration … Do you think McGonagall will let me in her class if I got an A?"

"McGonagall pretty strict …" Harry said making a face and Neville sighed. "I didn't think you liked transfiguration that much?" he added on not really sure what to say to make his friend cheer up.

"Well it is interesting …" Neville try to say but his voice showed that he clearly didn't care. "Gran said that I should take it …"

"I think it's about time that you did what you want to do, Neville," Ginny said. "You should go with your strengths and take Herbology, Defense and Charms."

Neville frowned, his Gran had told him that Charms was a soft option, but maybe Ginny was right. Maybe he shouldn't just do what his Gran wanted him to do, but do what he liked. He never could seemed to get what McGonagall was teaching them, and it took him so many hours practicing on each spell … he wouldn't mind if he didn't have to do that anymore. Charms on the other hand, came a lot more naturally to him. He had always been interested in Herbology even before he got to Hogwarts, and he found there was a lot of charm work that could be used to help keep a vast supply of magical plants alive and thriving in a large greenhouse like they were at Hogwarts.

"I'll think about it," Neville said to his friend and then turned back to Harry and asked, "How did you do on your O.W.L's?"

"I actually did really well," Harry said smiling.

"Don't be modest Harry, you did brilliantly," Ginny said beaming at him. "Especially in Potions."

"Potions?" Neville questioned blinking.

"Yeah, I actually managed to get an O, I can't believe it," Harry said smiling. "Ron did too. Hermione helped us a lot, but still, I never thought it would have happened."

"I would have thought you wouldn't want to continue in Potions," Neville said, knowing that Snape was even worse to Harry than he was to him. He knew from himself, he was glad that he would never have to have another Potion lesson again.

"I want to be an Auror," Harry said with a shrug, "Potions is one of the lessons I needed."

"Which is why you and Ron both studied so much for it," Ginny said. "I'm still in shock that Ron managed to pass."

"I'm sure that was all down to the private lessons he had with Mione," Neville said chuckling.

"Which I don't want to know anything about," Ginny said making a face and then turned to Luna so she could change the subject. "How was your summer?"

"Oh it was wonderful!" Luna said smiling in a way that almost made her dreamy expression disappear. "Daddy and I went to Sweden to look for Crumple-Horned Snorkack."

"Did you find any?" Harry asked looking amused.

Luna sighed, "unfortunately no. However we did see a lot of interesting creatures on the way. I wouldn't mind going back there to see those creatures again, but Daddy said that our next trip is probably going to be to Spain. Because we met a man in Sweden that said that his cousin sighted the Crumple-Horned Snorkack there."

"Well I hope you have more luck that time," Harry said, because there really wasn't anything else he could say to Luna about her odd creature.

"Harry … I was just wondering if you were going to restart the DA?" Neville asked some time later, after Ron and Hermione had rejoined them in the compartment.

"I was thinking it would be a good idea if I did," Harry said. "I mean it never hurts to have more practice right."

"That's definitely true," Hermione agreed.

"And you need it too, Mione … after you only got an E in Defense," Ron said to her, smirking as she made a face at him.

"Shut up Ronald!" Hermione said in a dangerous tone that had Ron gulping. She then turned back to Harry and pretended that Ron hadn't said anything, though she was clearly still agitated. "I was thinking that maybe we could get more people involved this time …"

"I don't know about that Mione," Harry said making a face. "I don't think I can handle too many more people without losing control."

"Hm …" Hermione said. "Maybe you're right about that …."

"Admitting that someone else is right … what happened to my Mione!" Ron commented dramatically and Hermione glared at him again.

"Ronald," Hermione said in a deadly calm voice, "why have you been trying to pick a fight with me all day?"

"Er …" Ron said, his ears turning red. "You know … I …"

"Whatever your reason is, I would appreciate it if you would stop," Hermione said in a stern voice this time. Ron sighed and then nodded his head.

"Sorry … we just haven't had a good row in months!" Ron grumbled as Hermione rolled her eyes at him and Harry and Ginny sniggered.

"Which I've been very happy about and wouldn't mind if you just keep that up," Harry pointed out to his best friends who were now both glaring at him.

"Harry, I was thinking that it might be advantageous if you let other people teach a lesson in the DA," Hermione went on like there had been no side conversation. "I found it very interesting when Luna taught us that charm she used in her duel and I was thinking that we might learn more having others bring in the different spells they had learn."

"That is a good idea," Harry said nodded his head. "I asked Sirius and Remus about helping me plan more lessons over the summer, though they had assured me that I was going to like our DADA Professor this year …"

"Did they tell you who it was going to be?" Neville asked and Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny all shook their heads.

"Dad wouldn't say," Ron grumbled. "I hate it when he keeps things from us … and what's the point this time?"

"I think he just did it to annoy you," Harry chuckled as his friend glared at him.

"Well Sirius didn't tell you either!" he huffed and Harry still chuckled, though he was just as annoyed about that as Ron was.

"As I was saying before, I do have a few lessons plans ready now with Sirius and Remus help," Harry said. "But maybe we could set a day aside for lessons taught by someone else if anyone would want to do that. It might be interesting to see what other people come up with."

Hermione was nodding her head as she listened to Harry and didn't even seemed to be phased at all when Ron pointed out that they had N.E.W.T's level classes now and that they might not have any free time. Harry just shrugged at his friend, knowing that he probably wouldn't have that much free time, but he'll just have to figure it out some how … this was important after all.

The train pulled into the station not to long after this and they all made their way to the platform. As soon as they got off the train they meet with Malfoy and his cronies.

"If isn't saint Potty and his merry band of idiots," Draco said snarling, the look in his eyes was filled with a cold fury.

"Don't even bother stopping, Harry," Hermione said pushing her friend, but Harry couldn't help but notice there was something different about Malfoy … no, not different. There was something definitely familiar about the way that Malfoy was glaring at him right now and it unnerved him. This was the look that Malfoy had always given him before they had read the book together and Harry wasn't sure what it meant. If Malfoy had decided to switch sides and tell Voldemort everything they learned, then the light side would be in a lot of trouble.

"Believe me Potter, I will make you pay for what you did to my father!" Draco called after him in a bitterly cold voice, and his demeanor was full of confidence, which only made Harry feel more uncomfortable.

"What was that about?" Harry asked his friends once they were in the carriage heading towards the castle. "Why do you think Malfoy was acting so oddly.

"He wasn't acting oddly," Ron scoffed, "he was acting like the git he always has been."

Harry caught Hermione's eyes and he knew that she understood his worry.

"I don't know Harry, but there's nothing we can do about it right now," Hermione said to him and Harry made a face because he knew that she was right and he didn't like that at all."

Harry was thoughtful as they walked to the Great Hall. He looked at the staff table, wondering if he was going to recognize who his knew DADA Professor was going to be but the only new person that was there was an elder brunette looking lady that was looking bored.

"Who do you think that is?" Ron questioned, disappointed like Harry, that he couldn't recognize her … why didn't his dad just tell them who it was if it was someone like this?

"If you listen to Dumbledore I'm sure you'll find out," Hermione snapped at him and he grimaced at her.

"Now who is trying to start a fight?" Ron questioned and Hermione smiled sheepishly at him.

"…our new Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor, Nymphadora Tonks," Dumbledore said and then the brunette haired woman looked over at the Gryffindor table smirking as Harry, Hermione, Ron and Ginny gaped at her before they started laughing and then cheering. Tonks then decided to turn her hair to her favor shade of pink, and her face going back to its normal heart shape as well. There was a gasp from most of the students at the change, though there were a few of the seventh year Hufflepuffs that didn't seem to be shocked, as they were first years when Tonks was a seventh year.

"Wotcher," Tonks smiled at the flabbergasted crowd before she sat back in her seat and then Dumbledore announced that it was time to eat. There was an excited chatter going through the Great Hall, and for several minutes it was about the interesting new Defense Professor they were going to have this year, though most the people quickly turned to different subjects, Harry and his friends didn't seem to.

"This is going to be brilliant," Hermione smiled. "I'm so glad we're going to have a competent Professor again."

"And one that knows how to have a laugh," Ron added.

"I can't believe she didn't say anything to me," Harry grumbled, he had seen Tonks almost as much as he seen Remus this summer and she hadn't said a word.

"She obviously wanted to surprise you," Ginny chuckled. "It was worth the annoyance of not knowing to see the look on your face when you heard her name."

"Like yours was any better," Harry pouted, only causing Ginny to laugh harder. After their meal Harry, Ron and Ginny went up to the staff table to talk to her (Hermione was leading the first years to the common room).

"Why didn't you tell me?" Harry demanded as she as he reached her and Tonks chuckled.

"Remus told me it would be better this way … he seemed to think it would be funny," Tonks shrugged, her eyes twinkling with amusement.

"Don't mind him Tonks, we all think it's brilliant you're our professor," Ginny told the elder woman.

"That's Professor Tonks to you now," Tonks said straightening up and holding her nose up in a haughty way before she started laughing. "I just hope I'm going to be good," she said in a more serious voice, "though I did find this interesting lesson plan in the living room and I was thinking it would be a good way to start with my sixth years …"

"Hey! That's mine!" Harry said recognizing the paper that he wrote down when he thought of what he should do for the DA. "You can't …"

Tonks laughter stopped him and she handed him the paper. "I was just yanking your wand Harry."

"This definitely going to be an entertaining year," Ron chuckled.

"Tonks … is it really okay that you're talking a year off as being an Auror?" Ginny asked.

"I'm not," Tonks said. "The Minister thought that it might be advantageous if there were some Aurors in Hogwarts this year now that they know Voldemort is back and I volunteered for the job. I don't think Dumbledore wanted another Ministry lackey here. I figured that since Remus was going to be … away … it might be nice to work here … what with all the lesson planning and grading I'm going to be doing, I'm sure it will keep my mind off of things."

"So you're still going to be reporting to the Ministry?" Harry questioned.

"Yep," Tonks said. "But it's only going to be the average Auror report …"

"Is the new Minister trying to spy on Dumbledore like Fudge was?" Ginny questioned.

"I don't think so," Tonks said, "at least not through me. Scrimgeour always seemed to be suspicious I was working with Dumbledore last year and it didn't help that I was at the Ministry a few months ago. I'm sure he knows where my loyalty lies, but that doesn't mean he's not going to take advantage of having an Auror in the castle, one that can keep a closer eye on you Harry."

"Oh … so you're going to be spying on me, I better keep my distance from you then," Harry said looking at her warily and she chuckled.

"We were going to do that anyways now that she's a professor," Ron pointed out to him and they both chuckled as Tonks pouted. They left soon after that, all of them looking forward to their first DA lesson.

**A/N: I'm not sure if it shows, but I really wasn't sure what I was going to do in this chapter, and I couldn't seem to write it for a long time. I also wasn't sure who I was going to have as the DADA Professor, I didn't think that Sirius would be a good choice because everyone thought that he was a criminal and they would have been uncomfortable having him as a teacher (not that that would have stopped Dumbledore for employing him). I also thought that Sirius would want to do something more for active for the Order. I knew that I wasn't going to bring Slughorn in as the Potion Professor because they didn't need his memory and I figured that Harry was doing better in Potions so he could have passed the O.W.L with his extra studying. So I picked Tonks because I think she would be an interesting Professor. I hope that makes sense.**


	23. DADA and Potions

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Three

DADA and Potions

"Wotcher everyone," Tonks said smiling as the time for her first lesson with the sixth year started. "Merlin this class is even bigger than the seventh year one …" she said shooting an amused look at Harry, knowing it had more to do with him than the Toad that had thought them the last year. "I remembered my year only had fifteen people in it because all the different Professors teaching us defense.

"But that's not the point," Tonks sighed, to try and relax her nerves, this class and the seventh year one was a little more nerve-wracking because she knew some of the students. "I know that this is one of your first lessons of the year for most of you, so you probably won't know as of yet that every Professor here is going to lecture you about N.E.W.T's and tell you how much more difficult this year is going to be even from the last. They're right, this year is going to be harder, and you're going to have to want to accomplish your spells with even more concentration than you have in the past.

"I understand that not everyone in here is planning on doing something that demands that you take Defense Against the Dark Arts, for only Auror, Law Enforcement offices and a few other jobs specifically state that you need it," Tonks went on. "However, DADA is one of the core classes and always looks good if you have a N.E.W.T in this course on your applications. I don't care if you truly like this class or you're just trying to make a good grade it is important to understand you are going to have to work hard in this class.

"Which leads me to our first lesson. Non-verbal spells. Can anyone tell me what a nonverbal spell is and what's the advantage of using one?" Tonks asked and most of the class looked confused, but as she had expected Hermione raised her hand. "H … Miss Granger."

"A nonverbal spell is a spell that you cast without words and give you a split-second advantage, because your adversary has no warning about what kind of magic you're about to perform," Hermione answered.

"Exactly," Tonks smiled. "The tricky part of the spell however isn't knowing what it is or its advantages, but how to do it. I'll just tell you now they're not about muttering under your breath or trying to force something to happen by will, but from concentrating on the spell you want to perform."

"And what would you know about concentration," Draco said in a drawing voice, giving Tonks a look of deepest content.

Tonks frowned back at the boy for awhile, knowing that the boy wasn't the same as he had been when they read together. "Nonverbal spells actually came easy for me because it's a similar kind of concentration that I need when I transform myself."

"Like you did at the feast?" Dean Thomas questioned. "How did you do that?"

"I'm a metamorphmagus, which means I can change my looks at will," Tonks said, demonstrating that by turning back into the stern looking brunette haired witch.

"Then what do you really look like?" Draco asked in a voice obviously meant to hurt, trying to make her question her identity. He knew very well who this woman was and she was a blood traitors and mudblood's daughter and not someone that he wanted to be associated with.

"As far as I can tell, this is what I really look like," Tonks said cheerfully, not letting him bother her because she had heard this question many times before. Instead of concentrating on changing herself she took a deep breath and let her body relax. Slowly it started to change from the brunette haired woman to woman with mousy brown hair and brown eyes. Her heart shape face seemed to be the same though.

"Can you learn to be a Metamorphosis?" Neville wanted to know.

"No, you're born with the gift," Tonks said. "It's a rare occurrence nowadays, I believe that the only family that is known to have this ability is the Black …"

"Are you the daughter of Sirius Black?" Hannah Abbott asked and then started to blush when Harry and Ron started laughing at that as Hermione tried to hide her own smile.

"No, Sirius Black is my mother's cousin," Tonks answered, shooting a glare at the boys. "As far as I know the metamorphmagus ability can only be passed down by Sirius, myself or Mister Malfoy, who's mother was also a Black before she was married."

Draco glared at Tonks as they others in the classed looked at him but he didn't say anything. Harry, however, was again wary of how much hate seemed to be in the other boys eyes as he glared. It just didn't feel right to him, and he knew that there was something going on with Draco. When he looked at Tonks, she seemed sad, but not concerned about this and he thought that he should ask her about it.

"If you have any more question about metamorphmagus, please come to me after class, for right now it's important for you to concentrate on the lesson you need to learn," Tonks went on. "I want you to split up in groups of two. One of you should try to cast the disarming charm non-verbally as they other tries to do a shielding charm. Remember, it's important to really think about the spell you want to perform. Now get to work."

Harry moved to partner up with Neville, knowing Ron and Hermione would want to work together. He tried his hardest to concentrate on the spell, but it seemed that no matter what he did it wouldn't come to him. Neville was having the same problem, but it seemed that he was holding his breath make sure he didn't say anything. Harry looked around then and noticed that others were trying not to say anything, though there were some whispering the spell under their breath like Tonks had told them not to do. He also noticed that Malfoy wasn't even trying at all, looking bored with this lesson and it's Professor.

"Expelliarmus!" Ron said out loud … much too loud.

The red spell however bounced away from the silent wave of the wand by Hermione, who was now smiling smugly.

"Well done H … Miss Granger, ten points to Gryffindor," Tonks smiled at her. "I think you got that even faster than I had," she added with a pout. "However, Mister Weasley, I believe I said that we were using nonverbal spells."

"Sorry Professor," Ron said, "but I could tell that Hermione wanted to see if she got the charm right and I knew I couldn't do it nonverbal myself."

"Very well, continue on, everyone," Tonks said smiling and the class continued for ten more minutes until the bell ring and everyone left the room looking disappointed that they couldn't do the nonverbal spell as of yet. Harry however, didn't leave and noticing that he was staying, Ron and Hermione stopped as well.

"What did you think of my first lesson?" Tonks asked nervously before Harry could say anything.

"I think it was brilliant," Hermione said.

"Of course you do, you learned the spell," Ron grumbled, "I thought you could have picked something easier for our first lesson back."

"Sorry, Ron, but there's nothing easy about sixth year lessons," Tonks sighed.

"Just what I wanted to hear," Ron grumbled as Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Tonks, I was just wondering if you knew why Malfoy was acting so strangely?" Harry asked.

Tonks sighed and nodded her head and then cast the most powerful charms she knew to make sure no one could over hear them. "As of right now, Draco doesn't remember anything that had happened in the book."

"How is that possible?" Hermione gasped, she like Harry had noticed something different about Draco, but she thought he was just acting the part he had always played.

"Snape took his memories," Tonks said her eyes narrowing sadly as she added, "because Voldemort wanted and has now made Draco a Death Eater to replace his father."

"Draco is a Death Eater!" Ron gasped and the others looked shook.

"Since when … why haven't we heard about this before?" Harry questioned, wondering if the Order were keeping things from him again and not liking the idea of that at all.

"I only found out about this last night," Tonks said. "Snape has been unable to talk to Dumbledore for the last month … I would say that is about how long Draco has been a Death Eater."

"So he's a Death Eater that can't remember that he really wants to be on our side," Harry summed up.

"Precisely," Tonks said in a heavy voice. "Which is why you have to be careful around him right now, Harry. He's angry about his father being imprisoned, and he has been given a mission that would give him and his family glory if he was able to complete it. Not to mention I don't think he's your biggest fan at the moment."

"We know how to deal with Malfoy," Ron huffed.

"Maybe, but you should know that you don't want to do or say anything that will hurt the understanding that you all gained between one another after reading the book," Tonks said. "He is going to get his memories back soon."

"We'll just avoid him," Harry sighed. "If he really does have a mission, he can't really spend time dealing with us, can he? And now that I think of it, what is the mission that he was given?"

"To kill Dumbledore," Tonks said gravely and the trio was shocked by that. "Obviously that's not an easy task, and Snape is sure that he will give the boys memories back before too long. Just don't say anything to Draco, until you know it's safe."

"Right," Harry said, leaving the room with the other two, feeling unnerved that a fellow student was asked to kill their headmaster. They didn't talk much as they ate their lunch and Hermione left to go to one of her lessons that the boys didn't share. Ron and Harry had decided to try and put the Malfoy issue out of their heads for a moment and worked on the homework Tonks had given them.

"And here I was hoping she would be one of those Professor that didn't believe in homework," Ron grumbled as they got to work.

Hermione joined them after her lesson and they were all able to finish their homework before it was time to make it to their next lesson, Potions.

They noticed that only nine other students were there and Harry wondered how difficult the class was going to be. The answer was, very difficult. Snape expected them to remember everything they had learned in the five years before and put them to work on a very complicated potion that seemed to be twice as difficult as the ones they had to do last year. Tonks was right about this year, it was going to be so much harder than the previous.

Snape cruelly told Harry that he was doing the potion wrong, because he wasn't able to get enough juice from the sopophorous bean he was using. He knew that no one else was getting more juice from their bean then he did, but of course Snape had to choose him to rib on. It didn't faze him that much, after realized that Snape, in the only way he could right now, was trying to help him, Harry knew there was another way to get juice out of the bean. He also knew that he couldn't spend time trying to figure that out as of that yet or his whole potion would be ruin. In the end, his potion didn't look that bad, though Hermione's was considerable better, and Snape had sneered at him once more before he was through.

"I suggest that you all take the time to realize just why this potion was so difficult to make," Snape said. "For this is the easiest lesson we will have all year and if you can't understand now, you will not be able to continue in this class for long."

Snape then assigned them a large amount of homework, making sure Harry knew that he had better explain why his potion was so horrible.

"Malfoy … if I may have a word," Harry heard Snape say after the bell rang and everyone started packing up. When he looked up he frowned as he watched Draco walk out of the room, not even looking at the Potion Master. He looked back at Snape and he thought he saw a worried look in his Professor's eyes before Snape masked his features like always. When Snape noticed that Harry was looking at him, the glare that came over his face made Harry quickly leave the dungeon classroom with his friends right behind him.

"Did you see that?" Harry hissed softly so only his friends could hear him. "Malfoy didn't even look at Snape … what if he doesn't get his memories back …"

"I'm sure Snape will think of something," Hermione said just as quietly as her friend, "and I don't think we should be talking about this now."

Harry grimaced, still not comfortable with this situation, but he knew she was right. It wasn't a good idea to talk about this now.

Hermione on the other hand seemed to be moody for another reason, which Ron noticed. "What's the matter Mione."

"I just don't understand what went wrong with my potion," Hermione sighed.

"Wrong … you had the best potion in the class," Ron scoffed, rolling his eyes.

"It didn't look like the book said it would," Hermione said, not being appeased by what he said. "I don't understand … I followed the instructions precisely, why didn't it come out right?"

"Maybe Snape was trying to tell us that the instructions weren't the best," Harry said thoughtfully.

"What are you talking about Harry?" Hermione said, looking offended by the suggested that the instructions wouldn't be right.

"I don't know, it's just the way he talked at the end," Harry shrugged. "He's never told us to think about why a potion was so hard before … maybe he thinks that there something wrong with the way it was done … or written in the book. Besides, when he sneered at how I cut my sopophorous bean, I got the feeling he knew a better way of doing it."

"If he knows a better way, why doesn't he just tell us," Ron huffed annoyed.

"Because that's not something Snape would do," Harry said and Ron had to admit that was true.

"I supposed someone like Snape might have figured out a different way of brewing a potion," Hermione admitted. "But I still don't understand why the proper information wouldn't be written down."

"Maybe they want to separate the people that have a talent in potion making from those that are just very good at following directions," Harry suggested and Hermione glared at both the boys who were trying not to look at her in the eyes.

"Hmph," Hermione huffed and then stormed away from the boys and they both assumed she was heading towards the library.

"Why did you have to go and say that?" Ron sighed. "Now she's going to try and prove she could still be the best in potions and spend all her time working."

"Sorry," Harry chuckled at his friends grimace. "Come on mate, it's time for dinner."

Ron smiled at that and the two went to the Great Hall for the meal.


	24. Draco Malfoy

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Four

Draco Malfoy

After two weeks of classes, Draco Malfoy was annoyed. He had gotten no farther with his attempts to fix the vanishing cabinets that he had thought would help Death Eaters to get in Hogwarts. He was not foolish enough to expect the broken cabinets to be fixed easily, but he had hoped that he would have been able to make some sort of progress by now. He remembered clearly when Flint had told him about the cabinet and how he had been stuck between the two cabinets not quite in either place. He knew that all he had to do was get the stupid cabinet to work and then he would be able to bring glory to his family. He would be able to reverse the disgrace that had come upon his father after the last year and he would be able to show everyone that he deserved respect.

He didn't even once let himself think of the last part of the task he was asked to do, as he made his way to the Room of Requirement. He couldn't. It made him uneasy. He didn't want to think about killing someone … even someone like Dumbledore that was mudblood lover. Soon he was standing in front of the cabinet, wondering what he should do and rembering his first meeting with Voldemort.

_Voldemort as sitting in a chair in the far corning of the room as Draco and his mother had walked in. Draco had felt his heart race in his chest as he felt fear build up in him. The Dark Lord had also been spoken of as a great man, but he knew this his father had feared the man as much as he was in awe of the man that had done so many great things. He felt that fear now as he took forced steps towards the Dark Lord, not wanting to look at him, but unable to look away._

"_Ah, Draco Malfoy," Voldemort had said in a high pitch voice that was cold and sent a shiver down Draco's spine. "So much like you're father, though let's hope that you don't disappoint me like he has."_

"_My lord," Draco said inclining in head so he would not portray the burst of angrer he felt at the insult to his father._

"_Aw, yes, you are proud of him aren't you," Voldemort said in amusement. "That is good. For it might help you to accomplice the task I wish you to undertake."_

"_Task?" Narcissa questioned and then bowed her own head when Voldemort looked at her. She of course knew what this task was going to be, Snape had told her only a few hours before this, but at the same time she knew that she had to act if she had not heard anything. Though it was clear that Voldemort didn't like the interruption, if she had not acted in concern and shock, he would likely have become suspicious of her … of them._

"_I am giving Draco the great honor of doing something that many think impossible," Voldemort went on smoothly, his words drawing Draco's attention and he felt the need to prove himself rise. If he could do this, then he would be put above others that had followed the Dark Lord. "Swear your loyalty to me, Draco, and prove that you're capable."_

"_O …" Draco started but his mother stopped him by putting a hand on his shoulder, looking gravely at the Dark Lord. Voldemort stared back at her in impatience._

"_What do you want my son to do?" Narcissa asked in tone even._

"_I want Draco to Kill Dumbledore," Voldemort said calmly, his eyes and tone gave Draco another chilling feeling and knew that he was staring at the Dark Lord with an expression of shock. He had not __expected his tasked to be something like this. However, as he thought about it, he pictured ways that he might be able to accomplish his task. He thought of the cabinets and wondered if they might be of use. Draco tried to think of ways that he might get close to Dumbledore and grimaced. He was sure that it would be difficult to have the man let his guard down enough for Draco to attack. He wondered vaugely if he could even hope to accomplish a task like this and then steeled his mind for doing just that._

_It wasn't until after he had left the Dark Lord's presence, the Dark Mark burning into his skin that his mind rested on the actual act of killing someone. He stomach had turned at the idea of that and then he realized that he didn't have a choice anymore. It was his task to accomplish or he would bring his family into even greater disgrace than it was in now that his father was in Azkaban._

_He had been surprised the next morning when his mother had told him that he was going to be taking Occlumency lessons from her._

"_Why are you trying to help me?" Draco asked, he had expected his mother to try and convince him that he didn't have to do it. Try to get him out of the task that he had been charged with doing. He never would have guessed that she would try and help him._

"_I need to be sure that you will be as safe as you can be," Narcissa said softly, her eyes portraying the tenderness that he knew that she showed only a few others. "Dumbledore is known to be accomplished at Legilimency and you need to make sure that he has no idea what you are up to."_

"_And I don't want Snape to know what I'm thinking either," Draco grumbled._

"_Draco, I think you should trust …" Narcissa said in a worry voice._

"_Well I don't trust him," Draco said. "He did nothing in the attack at the Ministry even though he knew bloodtraitors and mudblood lovers were setting a trap! I bet he's happy father and the other Death Eaters were caught … now he could be closer to the Dark Lord."_

"_If you're this angry, you will never be able to keep your thoughts secret," Narcissa interrupted his rant. "Now hurry up and finish you breakfast so we can start your lesson."_

Draco shook his head clear from that memory, as he looked back at the vanishing cabinet. He had learned a lot from his mother about keeping his mind closed off, building a wall that his mother couldn't get through no matter how hard she tried. He had also done other preparation to make sure that he was ready for this year and the tasked he was assigned. That preparation felt useless at the moment, though, because he wasn't able to do anything to fix the cabinet.

An hour later he walked out of the Room of Requirement and started heading for the Great Hall but stopped short when he saw bright pink hair and turned to take the long way around. If it wasn't bad enough that he had to be taught by a bunch of bloodtraitors, this year he had to be taught by one of the stains in his own family. It didn't help either that she, an insult to his mother's bloodline, was annoying in her extreemly upbeat manner. Did she have to be so cheery? Worse still, was that even people in his house said they liked her … or at least could stand her cheeriness because she was a descent teacher, which is something they didn't find often in their DADA professors. The word seemed to have gotten through the house too that she was a descendent of the Black family, which had only improved the Slytherins' acceptance of her.

He hated it. Couldn't' they see that she was the complete opposite of what Slytherins were. Couldn't they see that she had no claim to the Black family … that she was an outcast because she was a half-blood. He ate his lunch moodily as he continued to think of his stupid DADA professor, as he had always called her in his head. He refused to use her name! What the bloody hell was he was going to try next to fix that damn cabinet?

One set of cold grey eyes glared into another. The room was silent as they waited for the last member to arrive and the tension resulting from the two of them staring at the other was pliable.

"Maybe we should do with something to drink," the only other person in the room suggested but got no response … not that she expected one. "Sirius, you should be nicer to your guest."

"Hmph," Sirius huffed unnerved, not talking his eyes off the woman in his house. The woman didn't seem to relax her glare either. Emmeline rolled her eyes at the pair in front of her, when there was a knock on the front door which she was all too happy to answer, letting the other two continue to stare at each other.

"Snape," Emmeline said coldly, still not that pleased with the man after finding out that it was his information that would have gotten her caught by the Death Eaters, if it hadn't been for Sirius. Okay, so she knew the man had not wanted her to get caught, and that his warning to Dumbledore was the reason that Sirius was with her in the first place, but that didn't stop her from being a little bitter.

"Vance," Snape said just as coldly, but that was for no other reason than it was his normal voice and tone.

"They're in the study, I think I'll let you three talk amongst yourselves," Emmeline sighed, having a feeling that Narcissa Malfoy wouldn't want to talk in front of her even if she knew that any information that was gained probably would be passed on anyway. Snape didn't say anything as he walked away.

When Snape went into the study, he noticed that Sirius and Narcissa staring at each other in a silent war of wills. He was actually surprised that Black could remain silent for as long as he seemed to have been mute and wondered if Narcissa could teach him how to do that as well.

"Severus," Narcissa said in even voice that he could hear only a hint of relief in.

"Narcissa," Snape nodded his head to her before turning to Sirius, "this probably would be easier if you weren't here."

"Maybe, but I'm not leaving," Sirius said unmoving. "I'm still not convinced that Dumbledore was right about letting her come here."

"If she had not said anything to the Dark Lord as of yet, she is not going to do so," Snape sighed.

"And if she had already told Voldemort and is now acting like a spy?" Sirius questioned.

"You've already made this point, Black, and Dumbledore has deemed this an acceptable risk," Snape rolled his eyes. "Now why don't you go and do something useful."

"There is no point in trying to make him leave, Severus, Sirius has always been way too stubborn to do the descent thing," Narcissa said and Sirius turned to give her a ghost of a grin.

"I'm glad you remembered that," he said.

"I would like to hear about what has happened to my son," Narcissa said. "You promised to tell me, Severus, but it has been more than a month and I still don't know anything."

"I'm sorry," Snape sighed, and sat next to Narcissa. "The Dark Lord had been keeping an annoyingly close eye on me and it wouldn't have been safe to discuss this until now."

"I had assumed as much, but I will not wait for an answer any longer," Narcissa said.

Snape nodded his head and told, in the least amount of details what had happened. He told her about the book, but not the Horcruxes, mostly sticking to what the wizarding world would become once Voldemort had started to gain control. Narcissa's eyes furrowed as she listened, knowing that wasn't the world that she was looking for, especially when her family had been thrown down into such disgrace.

"After hearing all of this, Draco came to the conclusion that he didn't want the Dark Lord to succeed," Snape finished. "That was why I felt it was prudent that I take his memories. If the Dark Lord had any inkling that Draco felt this way, he would not hesitate to …"

"I know what he would do," Narcissa said stiffly, not wanting to think about that at all.

"I know you do," Snape bowed his head. "That is why I know, unlike Black here, that you will never tell the Dark Lord what you have learned today. He would not forgive Draco for hiding this information from him, nor would he let the rest of your family off easily."

"It seems that we have no choice but to help you now," Narcissa said.

"I'm sorry that things had worked out this way for you," Sirius said and she narrowed her eyes at him.

"Are you mocking me?" Narcissa huffed indignantly. "Looking down on me for only doing what you view is the right thing because my family is in danger."

"No, I was actually just saying that I was sorry that your family had to be threatened," Sirius said with a shrug. "But what you said makes sense too."

"Black, will you be quiet!" Snape snapped at him. "You are not helping!"

"Don't insult me, Sirius, I know that you don't care for the choices I made," Narcissa said coldly. "particularly in my choice of husband. You don't care one bit about my family."

"You're right about your dreaded husband, that piece of filth was never a good choice for you," Sirius said, his eyes showing his disgust, but soften as he continued. "But Draco is not your husband and you have always shown too much decency for me to actually hate you like others in our family."

Narcissa raised an eyebrow at that but couldn't say anything. They had never been very close, but she knew what he said was true.

"Besides, you've always reminded me of Regulus," Sirius went on, his eyes portraying his sorrow. "He always wanted the approval of our parents and after I was sorted in Gryffindor I think he wanted to prove that he was a son they could be proud of. I wondered if you ever felt the same after Andromeda had started dating Ted … and then married him."

"Nothing I have done has anything to do with _that woman_," Narcissa said stiffly but Sirius could see the sadness in her eyes and in her voice as she said _that woman_. He would wager anything that Narcissa missed her older sister just as much as he missed his little brother. The only difference is that Narcissa and Andromeda still had a chance to make up, he didn't.

"My brother died trying to stop Voldemort because he was shown how cruel Voldemort could be," Sirius said.

"I don't see what that has to do with me," Narcissa said.

"Maybe you don't care, but I just thought you ought to know … he was your cousin after all," Sirius shrugged. "One that you actually liked … or does that not matter. Was his name wiped from the family tree too when he turned against Voldemort."

"I did like him," Narcissa admitted in a soft voice, she had felt horrible when Regulus had disappeared never to be heard of again. Never knowing what had happened to him or the circumstances of his disappearance. "I'm sorry."

"So am I," Sirius said, actually leaning forward so that he could grasp her hands in a comforting sort of way. "Cissy," he went on in a determinate tone, and using her childhood nickname without even thinking about it, "I promise we are going to do everything in our power to keep Draco safe."

"Thank you, Siri," Narcissa said, bowing her head, knowing, like the two man in the room, that even though those words might be true, it wouldn't stop Voldemort if he ever were to learn what had happened.

Snape watched in awe. He never would tell Black this, but he was surprised at the way the he had handled the situation. He seemed to have eased Narcissa's worries some and had let her accept the fact that she would now have to try and help them.

"I have one more concern that I need your help with," Snape said after he let the two recover some.

"What is it?" Narcissa questioned.

"Draco has refused to speak with me," Snape said. "He will not listen when I ask him for a private word."

"Awe, is Snapy having trouble with one of his students," Sirius couldn't stop himself from teasing Snape, who glared at him murderously.

"He doesn't trust you," Narcissa said. "He blames you for what happened to his father and he believes that you're going to try and take his glory. I don't think he's going to want to talk to you."

"I thought as much," Snape sighed. "But as long as he avoids me like this, I will not be able to restore his memories. He will continue believing that he has to kill Dumbledore and I fear what he will try to do while he believes he has to accomplish his mission. Please, if you have any suggestion as to how I can get Draco to talk to me, I would appreciate it. I have some … but all of which would draw too much attention to us and I do not want that. There are plenty of my students that are children of Death Eaters and I would hate for this information to be passed on."

"I understand," Narcissa said, looking thoughtful before having an idea that might be useful.


	25. Lessons

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty Five

Lessons

"Hello everyone, and welcome back to the DA," Hermione said at the start of the first meeting of the year, like always, Harry let her take care of the organizational part of the meeting. It had been much easier to talk to everyone about the DA this year, because it didn't matter if the professors overheard them, the meetings where no longer illegal. Even more proof of that was that they were allowed to hold the meetings in one of the larger classroom. However, it was a different matter to get everyone to understand the importance of still going to meetings. After trying to explain it to the first few people, Hermione decided to just ask that they show up for the first meeting and see if they would like to continue.

"I know that many of you are wondering why we need to have the DA meetings now that Umbridge is gone and we have a good Defense Professor," Hermione continued on and several people nodded their heads in agreement. "The main reason is because we can learn about how the spells work in a more real life situation …"

"And if nothing else, this can be used as a study group," Ron added, which earned him a glare from his girlfriend and chuckles from others in the room. Some people even seemed to think that was a good reason to continue. Harry didn't really care why people chose to stay, he just hoped they would … though he was pleased that he didn't see Smith there, he didn't think he could deal with the annoying Hufflepuff for another year.

"Harry?" Hermione said and he looked up at his best friend, who was giving him an annoyed look. Obviously she could tell that he had stopped listening to her speech after Ron interrupted her.

"Er …. yes?" Harry questioned back and heard a few sniggers from the others in the room.

"I just asked if you would like to tell us the spells you plan on helping us with this year," Hermione said in a curt voice.

"Right," Harry smiled at her sheepishly. "Well, I was thinking that we still need to finish up with the Patronus Charm …" he started the list, knowing that would get the other's attention. He then continued to list the spells that Remus and Sirius had told him about and mentioned he was planning on have a few meetings where others could share any spell that they had learned and might want to teach to the group. Harry could see by the excited murmuring of some of the people in the room, that there were a few of the DA members that would be interested in sharing their spells.

Once he had finished he felt confident in saying that everyone there was planning on coming back for the next meeting. As everyone was leaving (after an hour of reviewing the spells they worked on last year), Hermione suggested that the members bring their friends or other housemates and though Harry didn't know how he could handle that, he knew it was a good idea.

"Not bad for the first meeting back," Ron sighed as he helped Hermione to vanish the pillows that they had been using. "But I don't know why we can't still use the Room of Requirement … I hate cleaning up."

"Lazy git," Hermione shook her head at her boyfriend and he grinned in return.

"You know that we've tried going in there yesterday and it didn't work … someone else must have been in there," Harry said frowning, not really sure why this bothered him so much but it did. "I think it's better that we practice in an area that we know we can use at the proper time."

"I wonder who it was," Hermione said, frowning as well. "And I wonder if they knew what the room was or if they just came across it on accident."

"It's not likely we're going to find out answers to either of those questions," Ron pointed out with a smile, knowing that wasn't going to stop Hermione from thinking about this.

"Harry, you really should be going," Ginny said as she moved the last of the desks back into it's correct position nodding her head to the clock. "You have to be at Dumbledore's office in five minutes."

Harry's head snapped to the clock as well and then he turned to leave the room, "sorry guys I really do have to go."

"Don't worry about it," Hermione said, "and good luck … with whatever it is you're doing."

Harry didn't response to that as he left the room and took the quickest route to the Headmaster's office, making it there just in time. When Harry went into the office he noticed immediately that the circular room didn't look like it normally did. Most of Dumbledore's gadgets were missing as well as his desk, making the office look empty.

"Aw, Harry, I see that you have noticed the changes," Dumbledore said upon seeing his expression.

"Yeah," Harry wasn't sure what else to say to that.

"I'm sure that you are curious as to why I have asked you here tonight," Dumbledore went on and Harry just nodded his head this time. "As you are aware, Harry, we have made changes in our present since we have read the Deathly Hallows together."

"Yes, we've made some changes," Harry agree with a frown, in the last week he had been wondering if the changes they had made so far really made that much of a difference … or if they should have done more by now with the advantage they'd been given.

Dumbledore give him a piercing look for a second before he continued on with his speech. "I believe that the biggest change that has happened is that you are no longer a Horcrux."

"That's a good thing, isn't it?" Harry questioned, because the way that Dumbledore said that it didn't sound like it was.

"Yes, it's a good thing," Dumbledore sighed. "You have come back to us hole and complete, which is as much as I could hope for in your situation."

"But …?" Harry questioned, because he knew there was a but coming.

"Voldemort has put a lot of … I supposed the closest word to what I'm looking for is … faith in the prophecy about you and him," Dumbledore went on in a grave tone. "He believes that you are a great threat to him … which he should fear because you are … but it only puts you in more danger than you would have been in at this point in the book…"

"…. that I'm not longer one of the keys to his destruction," Harry said scowling. He thought something like this might come up. Now that he was no longer a Horcrux, he was no longer an essential part to defeating Voldemort.

"Which is something Voldemort does not know, and therefore will continue to come after you until one of you is dead," Dumbledore sighed. "It is true that I wish that you did not have to be involved with this war any longer, but my wishing for your safety will not make you entirely safe. Seeing as Voldemort is determined to kill you, it is likely that he will create an opportunity. I mean to make sure that you have the best chance to survive that encounter, whenever it may come."

Harry wasn't sure sure what Dumbledore was saying and he couldn't help but feel a little afraid because of this speech. The idea of Voldemort coming for him was nothing new, but Dumbledore admitting that he might not be able to stop Voldemort from doing so wasn't comforting. "And how are you going to do that, Sir?" Harry asked with a gulp.

"I'm going to teach you some spells that I have found useful when I duel, and I'm going to give you as much insight as I have on Voldemort and the way he likes to fight," Dumbledore said. "I think it is too much to hope for that things will go as easily as they had in the book, seeing as I don't think you nor Voldemort will have the elder wand."

Harry eyes immediately went to the wand in Dumbledore's hand, at the mention of the legendary wand. Despite the fact that he knew that the wand would make him more powerful, Harry didn't like the idea of using it… especially using it to kill someone. He put his hand in his pocket and pulled out his own wand that felt warm in his grasp. Maybe it wasn't the most powerful wand every made, but he knew it would serve him well against Voldemort … it might even have the power to save him like it had in the forth chapter of the book.

"What are you going to teach me?" Harry asked when his thoughts were in order and Dumbledore smiled at him.

"As a starter, I was thinking the disarming spell," Dumbledore said, his eyes twinkling in amazing and Harry had the distinct feeling that he was being teased by his headmaster.

O

"That's it Harry, I think you've got it," Tonks said a few days later in her sixth year DADA class. Harry had just disarmed Neville without saying a word. "Now if you do that a few more times in a row, I'll know it wasn't by accident."

"I'll try T … er … Professor," Harry said, still finding it hard to call Tonks, professor.

"Honestly, let's just make it easier on everyone," Tonks said rolling her eyes. "You can all feel free to call me Tonks if you want, I don't really need to be called Professor."

"That's for sure," Draco snorted with scorn, "you're not much of one."

"Mr. Malfoy, would you kindly stay after class," Tonks said in a deadly soft voice, her eyes narrowed in a way that none of the students had seen her look before. Draco himself looked surprised by the tone before his scowl deepened.

Tonks was positive that Draco would have just walked out of the classroom after the bell ring if she had not been standing by the door waiting for him, her arms crossed and her face stern. He did not seemed to care to listen to her authority at all and it wouldn't surprise her if he had just dismissed her yet again.

"Sit down," Tonks said firmly, but Draco just glared at her. "We can do things the hard way, or we can do things the easy way … it's your choice."

"I don't have to listen to what a mudbl …" Draco started and Tonks rolled her eyes pulling out her wand and immobilizing Draco before he could even finish his sentence.

"I really don't understand why you hate me so much," Tonks sighed to the frozen boy. "In the room before you seemed so indifferent to me at first … I was expecting that … not you hating me."

Draco was obviously confused by what she was talking about but Tonks didn't care as she sat down and waited for Snape to come. It was several minutes after that when there was a knock on the door and Tonks admitted the Potions Master into the room before she reinforced the spells she had on her classroom to make sure that no one could listen in on their conversation.

Snape barely even looked at Tonks before he approached the frozen Draco, who looked enraged by this whole process. Seconds later Snape pointed a wand at Draco and muttered the counter curse that would allow the boy's memories to come back to him. Draco fell to his knees as the spell worked on him (and Tonk's charm wore off) and he held his hands to his head.

"Aunt Narcissa was right, that was rather easy," Tonks said, her eyes on Draco, wondering how much he was going to change after he remembered all that had happened.

"Yes, she knows her son well," Snape said in a curt tone. He didn't want to admit that he never would have thought of going to another teacher to hold up Draco so that he had a chance to restore Draco's memories. It just wasn't like him to ask others for help in a job that he could do himself. However, the fear of what the boy might do was enough for him to go to Tonks for help. He had picked the newest Professor for several reasons. The most important of which was that Draco had been openly disrespectful to Tonks and not one of his Slytherin classmates would be surprised that he was asked to stay behind, or that Snape would be called into the conference to help discipline his student. Another reason was it was easiest going to her because the girl was part of Draco's family and would have more of a reason to help.

"Are you okay, Draco," Tonks asked as Draco continued to hold his head in his hands.

"I'm fine," Draco said stiffly and then looked up, trying to keep his face straight. The truth was, he wasn't feeling fine at all. He remembered now all that he had learned during the book and he couldn't help but feel disgusted about the way that he had been acting and thinking the last month and a half. He also felt sick as he thought back to his meeting with Voldemort and his heart pounded in his chest as his fear about the task he had been assigned hit him. He had only seconds before his memories were erased to realize that he was going to have to be a traitor and spy to Voldemort, and if that had been bad. It was nothing to what his mind was going through now.

"What have you done so far in your attempts to k …. accomplish the task you have been given?" Snape asked in a detach voice, going straight into business. He knew what the boy was going through, but more than anything, he knew that Draco didn't want them to react to the weakness that was in the boys eyes. Draco didn't want them to see how scared he was.

"I've been trying to fix the Vanishing Cabinet," Draco answered, grateful for the question his head of house gave him. It was easy to report, than it was to remember everything. "There's another one at Borgin and Burkes … I was going to use it as a way to get Death Eaters in the castle without having to worry about the protective wards."

"Wow," Tonks whistled. "That was a good play … I'm glad you're not really going to be doing that."

Draco looked slightly pleased by the praise that Tonks had given him, but he couldn't look at her. He had been particularly mean to his cousin in the last two and a half weeks at school and he wasn't sure what he could say about it.

"Have you done anything else?" Snape wondered.

Draco shook his head but looked sickened by something. When Snape raised an eyebrow at him, Draco said, "I just bought a cursed necklace at Borgin and Burkes … I was going to get someone to deliver to Dumbledore …"

"That plan is not so impressive," Tonks frowned.

"I know," Draco sighed, "I was starting to worry that I wasn't going to get the cabinet finished and I was afraid …"

"Do you have the necklace now?" Snape asked and Draco shook his head.

"I couldn't get in the school with the security catching all the packages," Draco explained. "Madam Rosmerta has it now …"

"Rosmerta?" Tonks said in shock. "Why would she …?"

"She's under the Imperious Curse," Draco said. "Er … I sort of put it on her before I can to school."

"Another good idea," Tonks said. "Though admitting that you've used an Unforgivable Curse on someone to an Auror isn't a smart move."

Draco pale sightly, unnerved by the threat before he noticed Tonks smirking at him.

"Very well Draco, it seems like we have been able to get your memories back to you before anything too serious had happened," Snape said nodding his head. "Now you're just going to have to continue acting the way that you have been for the last few weeks, such as continuing to go to the Room of Requirement …"

"Do I have to sir?" Draco said making a face, he didn't like the idea of having to go into the room for hours at a time when he wasn't going to be trying to fix the cabinets.

"Yes, but don't worry, that time will not be wasted," Snape said and Draco grimaced at him, wondering if Snape had read his mind. "Seeing as you have made it clear you don't want anything to do with me, and it's advisable that you continue to show that hostility, the Room of Requirement is the perfect place where I can give you advance lessons in Occlumency."

Draco nodded his head at that, remembering Snape mention that Snape was going to teach him how to build a wall around his thoughts that would make Voldemort believe that he had nothing to hide. He hoped more than anything that he would never have to meet Voldemort again … or ever have to use this wall, but it would be foolish not to learn the skill all the same.

"That is all I have to say," Snape nodded his head to Draco and then Tonks and then left the room.

"Such a social butterfly that one is," Tonks said shaking her head as Snape left the room.

"Slytherins aren't really known for their social silks," Draco shrugged and then looked over at his cousin. He had learned to almost like her in the time they had read the book that made it even more difficult for him to understand why he had hated her so much when he lost his memories. "I'm going to have to continue to act badly towards you," he said looking away from her as he said this.

"Which means that you don't like the idea of being a total arse to me," Tonks said, hoping she was reading between the lines correctly.

"Aunt Bella was rather mad when she heard you were going to be my Professor," Draco said still looking away from her. "Telling me you were a disgrace in my mother's family … I don't like anything that disgrace my mother."

"I can understand that," Tonks said, realizing this was probably the closest she was going to get to an apology for his previous behavior and the only way that he could described why he had acted the way he had when he had lost his memories. "Which is why I'm only going to make you clean this room without magic for the detention you have earned in the last two weeks."

"Argh!" Draco groaned, he didn't like cleaning at all, it was a hundred times worst without magic. "I wasn't even myself at the time … I don't think this is fair."

"Sorry, you can't get out of it now," Tonks said shaking her head. "Not after you had to have a talk with me and your head of house. It would look suspicious if you didn't have detention."

"But that doesn't mean I have to do anything," Draco tried to counter.

"Of course it doesn't, I would just like to see you suffer a bit," Tonks smirked at him and he made a face at her. He shook himself as he left the room, his cheerful cousin seemed to have rubbed some of her charm off on him, because he felt slightly better as he walked out of the room. Sure, he was now a spy against the most powerful and dangerous wizard in the world, but as long as he was at Hogwarts he should be safe. And he liked the idea of getting to know his cousin a little better … and it would be all the more fun knowing that he would be able to act like a git and be able to tease her (though he would make it seem like he was been snide) whenever possible.


	26. Hermione's Birthday

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Six

Hermione's Birthday

Ron looked down at his hands and grimaced.

"What's the matter?" Harry asked from behind him, now looking at Ron's hands as well.

"Why the bloody hell, am I nervous about this?" Ron grumbled. "She's my bloody girlfriend, asking her … well it should be easy, shouldn't it?"

"I guess not," Harry said, his mouth thin and Ron knew he was holding back a laugh.

Ron wished that he would either laugh out right or do a better job at hiding his amusement. Instead he swallowed hard and turned back to the common room spotting Hermione reading one of her books. Seeing her both made him calmer and more nervous at the same time. Ron took a step but almost immediately turned back around to look at Harry.

"Why are you following me?" Ron huffed.

"You didn't think I was going to miss this, did you?" Harry did laugh this time and Ron was now wishing that he would just go away.

"Come on mate … it's going to be …" Ron started to say.

"I might be able to help you," Harry said trying to look serious again.

"How, by sniggering at me the whole time?" Ron grumbled and Harry shrugged. Ron was sure that he wasn't going to get rid of Harry and just decided to do what he was planning on doing. Every step seemed to be harder and harder to take and still he wondered how the hell he could be so nervous about approaching his girlfriend when he was sure what her answer was going to be. She obviously heard his approach, because she put the book down and looked up, a beaming smile lit her face when she noticed it was him.

"Hey," she said and then her eyes turned concerned when she noticed how nervous he is. "What's the matter."

Ron couldn't say anything as he watched Hermione gaze move off of him and then go to the obviously amused Harry (though Ron couldn't see his friend because he was looking at Hermione) and her brows furrowed even more, looking at him puzzled.

"Wouldyougototheballwithme?" Ron blurted out in one signal breath as quickly as possible.

"Did you say ball?" Hermione questioned looking shocked.

Ron wasn't sure if he was glad or not that she could still understand him when he's hardly making any sense, but he nods his head anyway. "Do you want to go with me?"

"What are you talking about?" Hermione said confused still, "I don't know of any ball."

"It's your …" Harry started to say but Ron shot him an glare before he sat next to Hermione and picked up her hand finding his confidence in her confusion. That look vanished slightly when she looked into his eyes, her breath catching at the determined look in his eyes.

"You told me once that I should ask you out first and not as a last resort," Ron said softly, and a smile twitches the corner of her lips.

"I didn't know you were listening to me then," Hermione said now really smiling.

"I always listen to you," Ron said. "It just took me a while to understand what you were really saying." He smiled at her and then asked, "Go to the ball with me?"

"Okay," Hermione answered and then added in an almost annoyed tone, "now tell me what this ball that you're talking about is!"

"It's your birthday party," Harry said. Hermione's eyes widen and she moved away from Ron.

"What?" she exclaimed, "I don't want a birthday party."

"I know … that's why I had to get you to agree to come with me before you knew where you were going," Ron was now chuckling and as Hermione turned to glare at him he beamed at her.

"You don't turn seventeen ever year, Mione," Ron said with his lop sided grin that he knew she loved. "Just enjoy the party while you can."

"And remember that it's a ball, so you're going to have to wear dress robes and everything," Harry added and Ron glared at his friend as the almost relaxed Hermione flared up again.

"Did you have to say that?" Ron grumbled.

"She had to know," Harry shrugged. "Everyone else is going to be dressed up and it would be odd if the birthday girl wasn't."

"What if I don't have dress robes?" Hermione questioned thoughtfully.

"Hermione I was there when you picked them out," Ron reminded her with a smirk as she grimaced at him sheepishly.

"Besides, it doesn't matter if you do or not," Harry said. "Anyone that doesn't is going to go to the Room of Requirements to get something nice … that's where the party is going to be by the way. It's going to be mostly the people from the DA that's coming … unless there's someone else that you would like to ask to come too?"

"No … that's enough I think," Hermione said looking at Harry suspiciously. "How do you know so much about this Harry? And come to think about it, why would either of you want to hold a ball for anyone, even me?"

Both the boys chuckled at that, but Harry's the one that answer her. "Ginny. She's the one that planned all of this. Though of course part of the blame rest on Ron's shoulder too."

"Thanks mate," Ron grumbled. "I'm really glad you came to _help_ me out."

"No problem," Harry chuckled.

"What did you do, Ronald?" Hermione asked in the tone that made Ron shivered.

"I didn't do anything," Ron said. "Gin just came to me telling me that she was planning a party and I told her that I wanted to spend time with you alone … she got it out of me what I was think … annoying little pest that she is … and here we are with this whole ball fiasco."

"It won't be that bad, I suppose," Hermione said, "I will enjoy seeing you in dress robes … even if they have ruffles in them."

Ron made a face at her, but before he could say anything about that she kissed him.

O

"You look beautiful," Ron said breathlessly as he watched Hermione walk down the girl's dormitory stairs into the common room that he was waiting for her in. She was wearing a silver strapless dress, light touch of make up that seemed to bring out her eyes and lips and she had done something with her hair, but Ron couldn't tell what. It just seemed to shine more than usual, though it was still wavy. He was just glad that she hadn't put it up like she had in fourth year. As beautiful as she had been that night, she was ten times more so tonight.

"What about you … you're incredible," Hermione said in a voice that was just as breathless as Ron's, and he could see her looking over him, causing a blush to build up in his check. It was true that he felt a lot better wearing the navy blue dress robes the twins have give him last year than the old hideous maroon ones, but it was still nothing compared to what Hermione was wearing.

"We should get going," Ron said, though he now wished that he never agreed to Ginny's party idea so he could be with her alone. Still, once they actually got to the Room of Requirement, he had to admit this was probably for the best. Though Hermione had put up somewhat of a fight about the ball, she obviously was enjoying talking to all of their friends. He even had to admit that he didn't mind dancing with her, though he knew he must have looked like an idiot to everyone, when it was a slow dance, Hermione would lean her head against his shoulder.

"What did you do to your hair," Ron asked during on of the slow dances, his head resting lightly on top of hers.

"Do you like it?" Hermione pulled away, biting her lower lip as she always does when she's nervous … or at least when he's the one that makes her nervous. "I was thinking of putting it up … but I thought you don't didn't like when my hair was up because you're always telling me how you like it down …"

"It's perfect," Ron interrupts her with a chuckled. "And I wouldn't say that I don't like you're hair when it's up. It's just when you're hair is down you look more … er … Hermioneish."

"Hermioneish?" Hermione questioned, and he's glad that her eyes are twinkling in amusement and not annoyed at him for coming up with the lamest explanation.

"Yeah, Hermioneish," Ron said smiling broadly, because he knows that she able to take amusement in this because she understands him easily. He's never been good at compliments but she understands him anyway. "At the last ball we went to, you were gorgeous …"

"Ron …" she actually protests as she rolls her eyes. He can't believe that she didn't know how incredible she looked that night.

"You were," he said firmly and the blush that creeps up her checks tells him that she does believe what he's saying. However, she wouldn't be Hermione if she just left it at that.

"So then you do like my hair up better?"

"No," Ron shook his head. "You were gorgeous that night, but you weren't you. I mean you were … but you weren't … Argh!" he groaned because he knew he was buggering this all up. He took a breath and just said what he knew was true, "you don't need make up or tricks … you're beautiful just being you."

Hermione's mouth open slightly as she looked at him with what he feared were tears in her eyes before he could tell that she smiling, "when did you get so good at compliments?"

"Er …" was all Ron could said to that because he was sure he was making a jerk of himself. "I am?"

"Yes you are," Hermione chuckled at his expression, and obvious shock, but honestly, how could he not know that was the best compliment he could have given her. Before he could say anything more, she pulled his head down for a kiss.

O

Despite the fact that he was at a dance, Harry was having a much better time than he thought. True, when he had taken a break and talked to Ron and Hermione … or Neville and the other guys … it was the best part of the party, but at least there was something. He had danced with Ginny a few times and it was fine enough, but he still hated that he seemed to have two left feet and was even more annoyed by the fact that Ron didn't even have the decency to be just as bad as him. Okay, so Ron wasn't great, but at least he didn't look like a git. Harry looked over to where Ginny was dancing with Neville, glad that she seemed to be having fun, even if he was such a sucky dancer. He had been surprised to find that Neville was a good dancer now, even though the last time they were at a ball like this he had stepped on Ginny's toes more than once.

He frowned, thinking of the last ball and how different this one was from that. The obvious thing was who was going out with who. It was hard to believe that he had spent that night looking at Cho, and wishing he had gone out with her, now that he was making Ginny laugh. It was hard believe that he would want to go anywhere with another girl. His eyes fluttered to Ron and Hermione and he had to smile. He couldn't help but think of the fight they had during the ball and wondered how he didn't realize that night that they liked each other. He looked away from the couple when they started kissing, as much as he was happy for them, he still didn't really like watching that. His eyes traveled to Parvati and again he couldn't help but think about the Yule Ball, or that she was his date. Before he knew what he was doing, he got up and walked over to her.

"Hey Harry," Parvati smiled.

"Do you want to dance," again Harry wasn't sure where this was coming from but he couldn't change things now that he had asked her out loud.

Parvati looked at him uncertainly for a second and then shrugged, "sure why not."

Once on the dance floor Harry tried his best to dance, and Parvati shook her head.

"You haven't gotten any better at dancing since the last time," she said chuckling.

"Thanks, I hadn't noticed that," Harry grumbled.

"Why did you want to dance with me?" Parvati asked. "You obviously don't like it."

"I was just thinking about the Yule Ball," Harry sighed. "I kind of acted like a jerk to you."

"Kind of?" Parvati asked raising an eyebrow. "As I recall, you hardly talked to me, only danced with me once because you were forced to and then stared at another girl the whole time. And that's just kind of a jerk?"

"Maybe I would have danced with you again if you weren't always with that Durmstrung guy," Harry pointed out and Parvati laughed, raising her eyebrow higher. "Okay, you're right, I wouldn't have. I'm sorry for being a jerk."

"Don't worry about it," Parvati shrugged. "It's not like I ever thought you asked me out because you liked me … and I didn't say yes to you because I liked you. I was just happy to go with a Champion."

"You mean you were using me!" Harry asked in mock astonishment.

"When did you get so funny, Harry?" Parvati said laughing.

"Don't know," Harry shrugged.

"Can I cut in," Terry Boot said, tapping Harry on the shoulder.

"By all means, I've said what I wanted to," Harry said grateful that he didn't have to dance more, but he only got a few steps before Ginny grabbed his hand and pulled him back to the dance floor.

"Imagine my surprise, when I go to look for you and I find you're dancing with another girl," Ginny said to him in a cold tone and he knew he was in trouble.

"Weren't you dancing with Neville?" Harry couldn't help but ask and Ginny's eyes narrowed at him.

"That's different," she muttered.

"You don't have to be jealous," Harry said, amused when she blushed and glared at him at the same time.

"Who says I was jealous?" she sputters out. "I'm not jealous … I just want to know why you were dancing with her when you hate dancing?"

Though Harry thought she looked incredibly stunning when she was jealous, he wasn't stupid enough to continue to make her angry. She would very likely curse him if he did. "I was just apologizing for how I acted at the Yule Ball."

"Apologizing?" Ginny said confused, her anger obviously being pulled up short by his explanation.

"Isn't that sort of the theme of the night?" Harry shrugged. "Ron got to make it up to Hermione for being a jerk, I didn't see why I couldn't do that too."

"Hm," is Ginny's answer to that as she grimaced.

"I supposed she's not the only one I should be apologizing to, though," Harry said suddenly, thinking about how he didn't even think about asking Ginny out then, but she probably wanted him to.

"Don't you dare look like that towards me," Ginny shook her head. "It would have been a disaster if you had asked me … I wasn't ready for that yet, and neither were you."

"I suppose not," Harry agreed. "But I'm ready now."

"I supposed you are," Ginny smiled at him, her heart beating in her chest as he looked at her, with an evil grin spreading across his face.

"Oh, and Ginny," he said, lowing his voice and moving closer to her. "You're incredibly sexy when you're jealous."

Before she has time to more than blush he's kissing her and it doesn't matter that he called her on her jealousy.

O

"Have you realized that everyone else gone?" Ron asked, Hermione's arms are wrapped around his neck and her head is resting on his shoulder.

"No," she said, she had only noticed that he was holding her close to him, slow rocking them back and forth to the slow rhythm of the music that was playing.

"Did you have a good birthday?" Ron asked softly.

"The best," Hermione said, moving her head off his shoulder this time so she could look up into his eyes. "Thank you."

"Gin's the one that threw the party," Ron muttered as his ears turned red.

"But you're the reason why it went so well … at least for me," Hermione said and he beamed at her with pride before he kissed her.

It started off as a slow kiss, much like the ones that she had been giving him all night, but things were different now. No one else was here, and she knew that no one could interrupt them … it was the Room of Requirements after all, and she required some time alone with her boyfriend with no interruption. She was kissing him with more passion when she realized that this was the first time ever that they would have this guaranty of privacy. In the past there was always teachers or Ron's family to worry about, but now … now it was just the two of them.

"Oh," Hermione gasped, because as soon as she thought that, her heals hit something she wasn't aware of before starting to fall backwards. She looked behind her and noticed it was a bed. "Where did that come from?"

"Er … I might have been thinking about it?" Ron mutters, ears red, though he was holding her close to him keeping her from the falling.

"And what exactly are you planning on doing with me, Mr. Weasley?" she asked, her eyes twinkling.

"Nothing, honest," Ron said with an innocent look before he grinned evilly at her. "I just don't want to crank my neck anymore because I'm leaning down so much."

"Prat," Hermione slapped his arm, amused and annoyed by him. Before she could do anything else though, his lips were on her's again, and he was kissing her with so much passion that she could no longer think. She was barely aware that somehow she must have taken off Ron's dress robes because her hand are on his bare chest right now. She realized that her dress had to be gone too, she can feel Ron's body against her for one brilliant moment before he pulling away from her groaning.

"What …?" she moans in confusion and wants to turn and feel Ron holding her again. "Ron?"

"I'm sorry," he sighed, not looking at her, but the ceiling and he's trying to catch his breath. "I didn't mean to move this fast."

"It's okay Ron …" she said softly, biting her lip, before she added. "You don't have to worry … I'm prepared."

"Prepared?" Ron repeated, and she could see him furrow his eyebrows together before looking at her confused.

"I looked up how to cast the contracep …" she started to say in as brisk manner as she could.

"You did!" Ron interrupted her in obvious shock. "When?"

"Right after we started dating," she admitted and then added in her brisk manner so she didn't have to feel embarrassed about this. "I thought about making the potion at first, because the book said it's better for a long term relationship, but there are ingredients that I couldn't get here … not to mention I would have to brew it in the dungeon. I didn't fancy telling Snape what I was doing."

"No, I wouldn't fancy that either," Ron said making a face. "And I would prefer it if you didn't mention Snape again."

"Sorry," Hermione chuckled.

"So, you really thought about this a lot," Ron said. "I mean it seems like you did a lot of research … then again I know how much you love researching things, so maybe …"

"It had nothing to do with the research," Hermione said, stopping him from babbling farther, "and everything to do with how you make me feel when you touch me," she added on softly, now moving her hand to his face and touching it lightly, watching him close his eyes with a soft smile on his lips. "… when you kiss me."

She started to move in to kiss him again, but he opened his eyes and pulled away slightly.

"Hermione," he started questioning, a look of concern in his eyes. "You said you were prepared … but you didn't say you were ready."

The knot in her stomach that had formed when he pulled away from her loosened at his words. Of course he would be concern about that. However, the truth was she didn't really know the answer to that and could tell that he could read it in her expression. "I think I am," she whispered her reply nervously and he sighed.

"You know my mum use to tell us when we were kids about this kind of magic … er … bond maybe … that come about when two people in love wait until their both adults to start a physical relationship," Ron said, his ears turn red again and he was obviously uncomfortable saying this.

"Your mum told you that?" Hermione raised an eyebrow at him. "you like that … when you were little?"

"Well she didn't say it like that, but I know that was her meaning," Ron mumbled.

"You know she probably just told you that so you won't have sex with anyone until you were at least seventeen," Hermione pointed out.

"Yeah, I did think of that," Ron admitted. "But it always made me wonder, because she always said two people in love. It's not like people have to be in love to shag. My brother didn't seem to care at all about this story in the least, but I've always been more impressionable than they are."

"What about you sister … do you think she takes this story of your mums to heart?" Hermione questioned and Ron glared at her, well aware that she was teasing him.

"She bloody well better," Ron huffed. "I'd hate to have to kill Harry after trying to keep him alive for some long."

Hermione chuckled at that and moved closer to him. "You're not just making this story up because I'm not sure if I'm ready or not, are you?"

"No, I'm not," Ron said. "I don't need to come up with anything … I won't do anything to hurt you."

"I know," Hermione said, leaning up and giving him a chaste kiss, "that's why I love you, so much."

"You know saying things like that isn't helping my control," Ron pointed out, his voice husky and his eyes burning into hers before he kissed her on the forehead. "I love you."


	27. Misunderstanding

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty Seven

Misunderstanding

"What happened?" Remus questioned as soon as his friend opened the door to his room and he was met with the grim look.

"Huh?" Sirius muttered and then blinked at his friend. "When did you get here Remus?"

"Ten minutes ago," Remus said. "I thought you might have welcomed your old friend back when I got here, but no, I was greeted by silence after weeks of living with werewolves."

"Er …" Sirius groaned and sighed at the same time. "Sorry … I didn't realize it was time."

"I've noticed," Remus said looking at his friend closely, Sirius wasn't looking good, it seemed like he hadn't shaven in days, he was wearing clothes that were obviously dirty, even his hair looked bad. Looking at the room behind Sirius, Remus was further displeased to see it was a mess too. Sirius was by no means a clean person, but he didn't usually let things get this bad … not unless he was really depressed. "What happened?" he repeated his first question.

"Nothing," Sirius said, looking down so Remus couldn't read the expression in his eyes. The only problem with this situation was that Remus knew if Sirius didn't look him in the eyes, something was wrong.

"Right nothing," Remus sighed and pushed his way into Sirius's room and then sat on one of the chairs in there. "You know you're going to tell me what happened, so why don't you just get to it already."

Sirius however, didn't say anything, he really didn't know if he wanted to talk about this or not.

"Is this about Harry being gone?" Remus tried a guess. "I know it was hard on you last year, but I though that since you were able to do missions for the Order and all, that it would be easier."

"Doesn't mean I don't miss the kid," Sirius said.

"I know," Remus agreed, he missed Harry as well, but he could see that wasn't what was bothering Sirius. "Did anything happen with Narcissa? I mean after you're first meeting with her?"

"Nah … she can't come here or go anywhere really without it looking suspicious," Sirius said. "No one wants to put her in more danger than she's already in."

"That's … good," Remus said slowly, not really sure if good was the right word to use, but at least Sirius's cousin (and Tonk's aunt) wasn't in more danger as of yet.

"Yeah," Sirius nodded his head, still not looking Remus in the eye.

"I didn't see Emmeline when I got home today either," Remus tried his last guess, which also had been his main hunch from the beginning.

"She's probably still at work," Sirius said in an overly nonchalant way.

"I still don't get how you were one of the best pranksters I've met, and you still don't know how to lie," Remus said shaking his head.

"I know how to lie … just not to a nosey werewolf," Sirius growled.

"Don't forget the best friend part, that helps me guess what you're thinking too," Remus added. "Just tell me what you did Sirius."

"Some best friend you are, assuming that I did something," Sirius grumbled.

"Fine then, tell me what she did?" Remus said, not concealing his amusement at all.

"Nothing!" Sirius huffed too emotionally.

"You shagged her didn't you," Remus sighed, reading from Sirius's mood that he had to be right.

"How …?" Sirius started to question.

"I know … have you talked to her since," Remus grimaced at his friend, remembering his friend dealing with girls in the past.

"No …" Sirius said hotly.

"Sirius, I would have thought you've …" Remus started.

"She's the one that's been avoiding me!" Sirius said. "She hasn't said one bloody word to me since it happened … well that's not true, she's said 'hi' and 'let's go' but that not really talking. And when I try to talk to her … she bloody well ignores me!" the words stumble out of his mouth without thinking and he is infuriated to see Remus looking amused! "DAMIT REMUS! This isn't funny!"

"Sorry," Remus said wiping the smile off his face. "It's just …. odd to see you on this side of things."

The glare that Sirius was throwing at his friend vanished as he bowed his head. His friend was right, he had acted this way several times after being with a girl. "I never realized it hurt this much."

"Why don't you tell me what happened exactly and I can tell you want I think?" Remus asked.

Sirius nodded his head and then told Remus about the night that he had gone on a particularly dangerous mission that had gone wrong and nearly gotten him and Emmeline killed. How she had apparated them back onto his doorstep. When he looked down into her eyes he didn't seemed to be able to control the feelings that had been building the last month that they have been living in the house together. He had spoken that part with a little smile on his face at the memory, but even the weak smile is gone when he told Remus about how uncomfortable it had been staying at Grimmauld Place now that Emmeline wouldn't even look at him.

"I just don't understand," Sirius sighed as he finished. "Half the time that I see her in the halls she's glaring at me … but she's the one that walked out … that won't talk to me."

"No one said it was easy to understand what woman are thinking," Remus said.

"Thanks for the stellar advise, Moony," Sirius grumbled.

"I don't know Padfoot, it seems to me that something else is going on here," Remus said. "She seemed to really like you before …"

"I thought so," Sirius agreed looking hopeful at Remus like he thought the werewolf knew the secret to this whole mess.

"Er …" Remus shifted uncomfortable because he really didn't have anything else to say.

"REMUS!" a new voice interrupted them and they both turned to see it was Tonks and she flew towards Remus … flying so quickly it seemed that falling might be a more accurate description, but Remus was quick enough to catch before she hit the ground.

"Tonks, when did you get here?" Remus asked with a huge grin, but before she could say anything he kissed her soundly.

"Do you mind?" Sirius grumbled.

"Sorry, Padfoot," Remus said standing up straight but it was hard for him to keep his eyes off of Tonks.

"Just go already Moony, you're of no use to me right now," Sirius shook his head. He was happy for his friend, but right now, he couldn't help but being more than a little jealous.

"I don't have an answer to your problems, Sirius," Remus said and Tonks looks at him questioningly but didn't interrupt. "But I suggest that you actually talk to her before you write this all off."

"I told you that she's avoiding me," Sirius started, rolling his eyes.

"Then don't let her," Remus said. "Sometimes people need a good talking to before they're ready to listen. I know I had problems until a certain someone turned me around." he added kissing the top of Tonks head.

"Are you having problems with Emmeline, Sirius?" Tonks questioned.

With the murderous glare that Sirius gave Tonks, Remus chuckled and said, "and I think that's are cue to go." Before he left the room however he added one more thing, "talk to her Sirius, she probably has her reasons for reacting the way she did."

Sirius grimaced at the door long after Remus and Tonks had left. They hadn't really told anything he didn't know already, and none of it made him feel any better. This whole stupid conversation was just a waste of bloody time.

O

Emmeline sighed as she thought of getting up. It was a Saturday, which meant that she didn't have to go to work … which in turn meant that she was going to have to see Sirius more. She hated the weekend now, because it was impossible looking at that git and not remember the feeling that had been building in her before … perhaps it was best that it ended so abruptly.

She decided there was no point in staying in her room, she would have to go out of it to eat. Besides she didn't want Sirius to think he was making her hide. She got ready for breakfast. She was surprised when she heard a crashing sound coming from the kitchen (Sirius was hardly up this early) and she pulled out her wand.

"Tonks?" Emmeline gasped in her relief.

"Heard me, didn't you?" Tonks said, a blush coloring her check.

"From the hallway," Emmeline chuckled. "I supposed this means that Remus is here?" her day was looking better now.

"Yep," Tonks smile was almost painful for Emmeline to look at.

"Why are you up so early, I would have figured you would have wanted to have a lie in with him?" Emmeline asked.

"I wish … but I've got to get back to Hogwarts," Tonks sighed.

"It's Saturday … surely you don't have classes …" Emmeline started.

"I have a detention I have to watch," Tonks grumbled. "If I had known that this was going to be the weekend that Remus would be home I never would have agreed to this! At least it's only for a few hours and Remus said he'll be here until Monday."

"Well that's a relief," Emmeline muttered in a voice she didn't think Tonks could hear, but the other girl was looking at her with a raised eyebrow. "What?" she finally had to ask.

"Remus told me that something happened between you and Sirius," Tonks started to say cautiously.

Emmeline's cheeks burned in humiliation and she glared at her plate of food that was only half eaten, "Of course he would say something …"

"Emmeline … I think …" Tonks started to say, in what sounded like a confused tone.

"It was nice having breakfast with you," Emmeline cut her off and then stormed out of the room.

This was what she was expecting all along. Sirius had gone to brag to Remus about what had happened between them like she had over heard him doing so long ago when they had both just joined the Order.

"_I've really got to thank you, Moony," Sirius had said that night, so many years ago when he was young and had not lost his best friend and spent twelve years in Azkaban. _

"_Me … what did I do?" Remus raised an eyebrow at his friend. _

"_When you chose not to partner with me for the mission last night I was give McKinnon," Sirius said smirking widely. "There's nothing like having your life threaten to get a bird to fall all over you." _

Emmeline shook her head of that memory, because she hated that she had fallen for the same trick. It had been that memory that had made her leave Sirius a week and an half ago after that fateful mission where they had nearly died and then ended up in bed together. It hurt bitterly finding out she had been right all along, that Sirius really hadn't changed at all and she was just another notch on his belt.

She wasn't sure if the next memory that seemed to be coming without her permission was good or not. She knew she didn't really want to dwell on her present situation with Sirius, but thinking about the past wasn't any better … was it? It didn't matter, she couldn't banish the thought no matter how much she tried. It appeared she couldn't think of what she had over heard Sirius tell his friends without thinking about what happened in the rest of that meeting.

"_What a dog," a male voice said next to her and she jumped, turning to find a man with light brown and red hair. He grinned at her and then nodded his head towards Sirius, who was laughing at whatever it was he was saying now. She was glad that she didn't hear more of that conversation. "Though despite that he's a good friend to have in a tight spot." _

"_I'll just have to take your word for that," Emmeline said. "I don't think I'm ever going to want to partner up with him." _

_The man chuckled. "You're new aren't you … I haven't seen you at a meeting before." _

"_Yes, this is my first meeting," Emmeline said and then looked down at her hands, thinking about why she was here. Why she had a sudden need to join this fight when before she had be okay just sitting by and letting others fight. _

"_Fabian Prewett," the man said holding out his hand, and she took it, seeing understanding in his eyes. She knew he could tell that something had happened for her to be here._

"_Emmeline Vance," she replied. _

"_I thought so, you were in Ravenclaw weren't you." Fabian said. _

"_Yeah, I didn't realize you knew me," Emmeline said._

"_I knew of all the good looking girls," Fabian beamed at her._

"_And you called Sirius a dog," Emmeline rolled her eyes at him. _

"_Doesn't mean I'm not one myself," Fabian chuckled. There was a long silence after that as everyone waited for the meeting to start. Then Fabian broke the silence in a much more serious tone than he was __using before. "Do you want to talk about why you decided to join the Order?" _

_Emmeline looking at him in shook, not thinking anyone would have asked her that question directly … well no one after Moody had asked her when she first joined, needing to know her reason to make sure she wasn't a spy. _

"_You don't have to say anything … I just though you might need someone to talk to," Fabian said. "I can tell something happened …" _

"_Oh," Emmeline said, not sure if she wanted to tell this stranger what had happened or not. _

"_Yeah," Fabian said sadly. "There are two main reasons why people join the Order. One, they believe in the cause and their willing to stand up against Voldemort …" Emmeline shuddered when he said that name and Fabian gave her an understanding look before continuing. "They volunteer to join the fight because they think it's the right thing to do. The other … well the other is someone they are close to is attacked … killed._

"_It was a bit of both for me," Fabian went on before Emmeline could react to his words. "My brother and I would have join no matter what … it just made us more determined when our parents were killed." _

"_I'm sorry," Emmeline said, knowing the words weren't enough but it's all she could say. _

"_Yeah … well, now we're just doing our part to make sure something like that doesn't happen again," Fabian shrugged. "I especially want to make sure that my nephews don't ever have to know what that's like." _

"_Nephews?" Emmeline asked, manly because she wanted to talk about something more cheerful. "How many nephews do you have?" _

"_Five," Fabian smiled and then added as an after thought, "well actually it's six … Molly just told me she's pregnant again … I mean seriously you would think she would stop after the twins were born, but it seems she wants to have a Quidditch team before she's happy." _

"_If she just told you she was pregnant, how do you know it's a boy?" Emmeline asked. _

"_She married to Arthur Weasley … everyone knows that the Weasleys haven't hand a girl in over a century," Fabian chuckled._

"_Maybe you're sister is hoping to have a girl," Emmeline mused thoughtfully. _

"_That probably is part of it," Fabian admitted. "But Molly's a natural born mother. I've never seen her happier than when she's holding her son for the first time. Can't blame her for that either … they really are good boys … or at the every least entertaining." _

"_Entertaining?" Emmeline questioned, finding it an odd way of describing a child. _

"_Fred and George … that's the twins I mentioned before," Fabian grinned. "They can't even talk yet and they're causing all sorts of trouble. They remind me of me and my brother to tell you the truth." _

_It was then that Dumbledore had come and the meeting started. She realized that Fabian had done a lot to help calm her nerves about this meeting. He also reminded her that there was a world out there that still needed to be protected. A world where innocent lives were still being lived, babies were being born and people that didn't know the pain she had gone through. Two weeks ago she had been one of those people, not realizing the full extent of the war and she wanted to make sure no one else would have to come to that realization like she had. _

After the meeting was over, she told Fabian why she had joined the Order. How her fiancé had been killed because he happened to be a half-blood, whose pureblood father's family wanted to get rid of the stain against their name. Fabian, and his brother Gideon, had become her friends after that and she was grateful they were there for her. It was through Fabian that she got to know Sirius a little better and found out that he wasn't so bad. Sure he could be a womanizing git at times, but once you got to know him you could find that there was more to him than that. Still she had promised herself that she would never be partnered up with him. That had worked during the first war but obviously not this one.

Nothing romantic had ever happened between her and Fabian, she hadn't been ready and then he died in the war along with his brother and she never knew if anything more could have come of that. She had never seen the point of dating anyone after that knowing too well the pain of loss, but she had been happy enough with her friends and family. It had been shocking to discover that she had feelings toward Sirius after their first mission two months ago and she wondered why it had to be him.

Before she could think about anything else there was a hammering at the door.

"What is it?" Emmeline finally answered, knowing that it had to be Sirius because no one else would have knocked for so long and not said anything.

"We need to talk," Sirius said, it looked like he had recently shaved and combed his hair, which was an improvement on how he had look the last two times she had seen him in the hallway before she got to her room.

"I don't want to talk," Emmeline said looking away from him because he looked so damn good right now … which he very well knew.

"Well I do and I think you owe me that much1" Sirius huffed, which instantly annoyed her. Why would she owe him anything?

"What is it?" Emmeline said through gritted teeth.

"Why can't you just get past what happened already and stop acting like a child!" Sirius huffed.

Emmeline's eyes widened and she felt like he had just punched her in the stomach. She wasn't sure if it was fury or heartbreak she was feeling when she reached for her wand, but if he hadn't continued speaking she was sure she would have done something she would have regretted.

"I get it all right. You don't want anything more with me … but to ignore me when we're the only two people living in a house is ridiculous," Sirius said and she just looked at him with her mouth opened.

"What?" Emmeline asked, because she was sure she hadn't heard him right. Want anything more with him? Did he actually … could it be possible she had gotten it wrong. In inner voice screamed at her that it was very possible that she could be wrong seeing as she never bothered to talk to him about what happened in the first place. She had just assumed he had used her.

"Don't look at me like that," Sirius said. His eyes, that had been angry when he first got there, had now gone cold, masking all of his emotions. "You know what I'm talking about."

"You wanted more …?" she asked in a soft voice, she could hear her own heartbeat in her ears as she thought of that but she tried to ignored it. Even if he had wanted more … he probably didn't anymore now that she had been so horrible to him. Thinking the worst of him.

"Why do you think I've been trying to talk to you for the last week?" Sirius said.

"You never said anything that was important," Emmeline said softly, unable to look at him.

"You were always glaring at me … or ignoring me," Sirius said. "I couldn't say much at all." There was a long pause, because she didn't know what to say and it seemed that Sirius was confused about how this conversation was turning out.

"Em … what happened?" he asked softly as she felt his hand raise her face to look at his. His eyes are no longer indifferent, they were filled with pain and hope. "After we …" he seemed to search for the right words but didn't seem to be able to find them, which was odd, because she was sure that he knows at least a hundred different words for what they did that night, "why did you leave?"

"I had a dream about the first day I … er … saw you," Emmeline started to explain, hoping that he met it when he said that he wanted something with her, or this was going to hurt a lot.

"When Fabian introduced us?" Sirius asked looking confused about her phrasing … not to mention how that could have made her leave like she had.

"No," Emmeline shook her head. "It was about my first meeting in the Order during the last war. I over heard you talking to your friends about what happened between you and Marlene."

Sirius furrowed his eyebrows together looking confused, which caused Emmeline to narrow her eyes at him in anger again, until he finally said, "Oh."

"Oh," Emmeline repeated with a huff. "Is that all you're going to say?"

"What else can I say?" Sirius asked her, not angry but sad. "I can't change the past."

"So that's not what's going on right now?" Emmeline asked unable to keep the hope from her voice.

"No," Sirius said. "I'm not the same bloke I was then. I never thought I would find …" he cut himself off and then sighed, "I'm sorry for letting things get carried away the other night."

"You weren't the only one that let things get carried away," Emmeline reminded him. "And I'm sorry how I reacted to this … I just thought that you didn't care about me."

"I really buggered this all up didn't I," Sirius groaned.

"No … I think I'm the one that did that," Emmeline sighed sitting down on her bed and holding her head. "I could have just asked you how you felt … but no I avoided the problem."

"Why?" Sirius asked her sitting on the bed too, though he gave her some room.

She looked at him for a long time, not sure how to answer that at all. Why hadn't she just talked to him. The guy she had been talking to for the month before they slept together had been kind and understanding. She liked him a lot. Why did she automatically assume he would turn into a jerk afterwards. She couldn't come up with a reasonable explanation for this. The only thing she could think of was … "It's been a long time since I've cared about anyone like this."

"Well I've never cared about anyone like I do you," Sirius admitted moving closer to her and wrapping an arm around her shoulder and was pleased when she moved into him. "I've no a clue what I'm supposed to do now."

"I don't either," Emmeline sighed.

"I wouldn't mind trying to figure this out," Sirius supplied next.

She pulled away so she could see the smile one his face as she returned it. "I think that's a great idea."

"Good," Sirius said leaning forward to kiss her but she pulled away again.

"Sirius," she said cautiously. "I think we should take things slowly. I know we've already …" she was now the one searching for a word to describe the last week's activities but before she could say anything he supplied an answer.

"Done the nasty?" his smirk widened as she made a face at his chosen description.

"Yes that," she answered him dryly and he chuckled before she became more serious. "I just want to hear more about you … have a real relationship."

Sirius surprised her again by his reaction to that. He smiled at her. "I like the sound of that. I hate fake relationships … they're rather put on don't you think."

"Can't you ever be serious," Emmeline rolled her eyes, well use to his humor after spending so much time with him lately.

"I'm always Sirius," he said with a grin and she gave a forced, rather annoying, laugh at that and continued to laugh for a long time. "Stop laughing."

"Why … if you're going to use a cheesy pun like that, I'm going to have a nice long laugh at it. Everytime you make that pun."

Sirius's eyes widened at that, "Well, that's the first threat anyone's given me about my Serious/Sirius pun that I might have to listen to."

"Well I'm glad that I can do my part in stopping you from using that," Emmeline smiled wickedly at him.

"Em?" Sirius asked and she nodded her head. "Is kissing allowed in our new slowed down relationship?"

"I think that might be allowable," she barely got the words out of her mouth when he kissed her. It wasn't long before she was kissing him back passionately before finally pulling away from him breathless. "Then again, maybe it shouldn't be," she said still breathless, whispering in his ear and feeling a great desire to suck on it. "You're a damn good kisser."

"You're bloody good yourself," Sirius chuckled in a husky voice.

"Why don't you hurry up and tell me all there is that I need to know about you," Emmeline said repositioning herself so her head is now resting on the pillow and Sirius laid down next to her. "I don't know how slowly I can take this with an irresistible git like you."

"Compliments like that aren't going to help your case," Sirius chuckled. "Let's see … where to start. Well, I hate talking about my childhood … you could probably guess that by this house …"

O

The next morning Sirius woke up to find Emmeline sleeping in his arms. He never realized that he could be happy waking up with a woman after just talking to her. He had been surprised by the fact that he had actually opened up and talked about things that he had never really talked about before. It had been much easier talking to her than he thought possible. He wasn't the only one talking though. She told him about herself too. Not everything of course, you couldn't get through a whole lifetime of things in one night, but he was sure that he would have more time to learn about her … share things with her.

"What are you smiling at?" Emmeline asked and Sirius looked down at her, his smile widening.

"I was just thinking … I don't have to be jealous of Remus anymore."

"Oh?" she questioned. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"It means that I'm looking forward to hearing more about you," Sirius answered and then his stomach growled. "But maybe breakfast first … I think we skipped dinner."

"And lunch," Emmeline chuckled as she got up and then reached a hand out to him. "Come on."

Sirius got up and intertwined their fingers together before they walked downstairs for breakfast and Sirius couldn't remember being this happy in a long time.

**A/N: I just want to remind everyone that chapter 26 is now the chapter with Ron and Hermione and not the Author's note it was before. **


	28. Lessons with Dumbledore

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Eight

Lessons with Dumbledore

Harry was surprised how much and little had happened to him so far this year. It was already November and the first Quidditch match was going to take place soon. In a lot of real ways he felt like he was doing so much that he didn't even have time to think, what with the DA, lessons with Dumbledore, Quidditch practice and his classes. Still, it was weird that nothing suspicious had happened so far this year … it unnerved him that his life had not been threaten so far and he feared what that meant. He hoped that this silence didn't bode ill for him. Hoping it was brought on because they had been able to get Malfoy on their side, and therefore stopped Voldemort's attempt on Dumbledore's life.

He thought about the meeting with the DA, which more people seemed to be joining every few meetings or so. They had also had three meetings were someone else actually took up the job of teaching. It wasn't surprising that Hermione had been the first to volunteer for this, but it had been a shock when Neville offered to show everyone a curse that his grandma had taught him. Neville, though obviously nervous, had actually been good at describing what he wanted done, and Harry couldn't help but think of the book and how Neville had acted in it …. as well as the fact that Neville was supposed to be a professor in the future. It was clear for him to see how that could be the case now.

On the last meeting in September, Harry had started another dueling tournament much to the approval of the DA. He had been disappointed when he had been disarmed by Terry Boot in the third round, but he had to admit that it seemed to please everyone else in the club … not to mention it made them all try harder. Ron ended up winning the tournament after defeating Padma Patil in a rather intense duel that Harry felt proud of. He could see some improvement in everyone and the confidence that people seemed to gain by being part of this group.

Harry's personal training with Dumbledore had been strenuous on him. In the first few weeks, he had been shocked when he found out that Dumbledore was serious about him having to use the disarming spell. He had been sure his headmaster was teasing him because it was the first spell he taught in the DA, but it was not the case. However, what Dumbledore had wanted Harry to learn, wasn't the spell, but to work on his non verbal spell casting ability and using familiar spells would made it easier. Harry wasn't too pleased that it had taken him more than a week to start to get the hang of non verbal spells, but there was nothing he could do to speed up the process. He wasn't sure if Dumbledore's understanding was helping him or not.

"It seems like you've got things under control now," Dumbledore had said with a smile.

"I suppose," Harry sighed, unable to look at his headmaster in the eyes. "I'm sorry it took so long …"

"Think nothing of it, Harry, it is difficult to learn at first," Dumbledore said kindly.

"I bet it didn't take you long to learn it," Harry muttered under his breath not really meaning for Dumbledore to hear, but of course he had.

"No, it didn't but few things took me long to learn," Dumbledore admitted. "However, the speed at which you learn something new isn't as important as how well you use it once you've learned the trick of it. I'm confident once you've learn this, you will use it properly."

"Why am I learning this, sir?" Harry asked. "I mean, well, don't get me wrong, it helps having you tell me things … but I would have learned non verbal spells for my classes this year … wouldn't I have?"

"I believe you would have," Dumbledore agreed and then gave Harry a piercing look that made the boy shift uncomfortably. "There are a few reasons why it is important for you to understand how to do non verbal spells … and why it's important that you learn it quickly. I wonder Harry, how much have you practiced Occlumency since last summer?"

"Occlumency?" Harry repeated a little shock that Dumbledore would say that before he looked away from his headmaster's eyes. "Not in a while … I didn't think it matters now that I no longer have a connection with Voldemort."

"A fair assumption," Dumbledore said.

"Sir, did you just use Legilimency on me?" Harry asked.

"Yes, I did," Dumbledore admitted with a smile. "Of course, when you use the non verbal form of the spell it is not as powerful, however, it is usually enough to gather emotions and predict what others are feeling, if not thinking. I would have to say that your mind is more blocked than it had been."

"So you use Legilimency on me often?" Harry questioned, raising an eyebrow.

"I try not to … it's not something anyone in my position should do," Dumbledore sighed, "but you have been in some rather … interesting situations throughout your time here."

"You can say that again," Harry grumbled, wondering when Dumbledore had used this on him in the past, but shook his head because he had more important things to think about now. "Sir, I still don't see why your teaching me non verbal spells."

"I heard that you ran a dueling tournament last term," Dumbledore said.

"Yes …" Harry answered slowly, looking confused, "we're in the middle of the new tournament now."

"Good," Dumbledore smiled at that. "You've been in several duels as well, outside of the tournament."

Harry nodded his head, thought it seemed more like a statement than a question.

"You'll find that many of the Death Eaters do not use verbal spells in a duel," Dumbledore added. "The Unforgivable Curses are exceptions of course, because they can only be used when they are spoken out loud."

"I understand, sir," Harry said. "Though I'm not sure why you just used Legilimency on me."

"A very skilled Legilimens, like myself and Voldemort, are able to use Legilimency while we're dueling, so that we have more of an advantage of knowing what our opponents are planning on doing," Dumbledore explained. "It might be true that you and Voldemort no longer have a connection, but that doesn't meant that he can't use Legilimency against you."

"I'm going to have to work more on my Occlumency," Harry said, he didn't like that idea much at all, though he had made his defenses pretty good by the end of last year.

"Yes," Dumbledore agreed. "And I'm going to be the one that helps you with this because using Occlumency while dueling is … rather difficult."

"Is there anything else I'm going to have to learn?" Harry asked.

"One or two things," Dumbledore said with a twinkle in his eyes and Harry sighed, knowing it was going to be a long year of training. Harry decided that the best way that he was going to improve himself was if he used the techniques, he was learning with Dumbledore in the DA tournament. Which he did and proceeded to lose the next match.

Naturally, Harry told Ron, Hermione and Ginny about his training with Dumbledore, and each of them thought it wasn't such a bad idea working on similar things themselves (though they chose not to try it during the tournament like Harry had). Ginny got pretty frustrated about this because she was at the disadvantage of not having learned any Occlumency the previous year and as she was a year behind them she had not been taught any non verbal spells. Hermione tried to help Ginny out as much as possible with both these skills, but the progress she made had been slow.

By the end of October, Harry had completely mastered non verbal spells. Dumbledore had also declared that his Occlumency was very good … good enough that it would take great effort to be broken. Harry wasn't sure what that meant, but he knew that he never wanted to find out. It was then that Dumbledore had announced that in their next lesson they were going to start dueling and Harry was going to see if he could use what he had learned. This both terrified and thrilled Harry to see what it would be like to duel against Dumbledore, though he was sure that he didn't have a chance to even last more than a minute. Yeah, he knew that he had faced Voldemort several times in the past and lived to tell the tale, but that had been in a life and death situation and Voldemort had greatly underestimated him.

"You're back early," Hermione said when Harry came in only a half an hour after he had left to talk to Dumbledore.

"Yeah, well …" Harry started to say but stopped himself when he realized that there were several people in the common room still. Harry noticed that Dean, Seamus and Neville were all talking and the added, "Maybe we should go upstairs?"

They all headed for the boys dormitory and Harry preformed a spell on the door to make sure that the other boys couldn't overhear them or come into the room.

"So what happened?" Ron asked, sitting on his bed, Hermione next to him as Ginny sat down on Harry's bed.

"Dumbledore said that since I mastered the skills we were working on that I'm going to duel him in our next meeting," Harry said and as all three of his friends' mouths dropped.

"That's brilliant," Ron said dreamily. "What it must be like to be able to duel against Dumbledore …"

"I'm sure you could learn a lot … I bet someone could learn a lot just by watching a duel like that," Hermione said, looking like she liked the idea of seeing the duel.

"But why didn't he just duel you tonight … you had a at least another hour before you normally get back?" Ginny asked.

"Don't know," Harry shrugged.

"Maybe he didn't want to put you in the hospital the day before our Quidditch match," Ron suggested.

"Dumbledore isn't going to put Harry in the hospital!" Hermione huffed at that.

"Hermione, it's Dumbledore! He could put anyone in the hospital he wanted," Ron rolled his eyes.

"I know that, but he doesn't want to hurt Harry … he wants to teach him!"

"I don't think Dumbledore is going to hurt me," Harry cut into the debate before his friends could get any farther, he could tell that they were just trying to push the other's buttons. "But you might have a point about the Quidditch match … that is tomorrow isn't it?"

"It's always nice to have a captain that's on top of things," Ginny said sarcastically.

"Sorry … I've got a lot going on this year," Harry sighed, "Quidditch has been just about the only part of it that's been fun."

"You don't think snogging me is fun … see if I kiss you again anytime soon," Ginny huffed in mock annoyance.

"Oi!" Ron huffed. "I'm sitting right here … I don't need to hear about you too snogging."

"Would you rather see it?" Ginny questioned.

"I thought you weren't going to snog me anytime soon?" Harry reminded her with amusement.

"You know annoying my brother is always higher on my priority list than being annoyed at you," Ginny shrugged.

"I do know that," Harry grinned at her.

"Still here!" Ron grumbled.

"I think that's Gin's point, Ron," Hermione shook her head at him smiling. "When are you going to get used to them being together."

"I have two answers to that and they're both true," Ron said, looking at her.

"Which are?" Hermione asked.

"I've already got used to them and I'm never going to get used to them," Ron said.

"You're such a contradiction," Hermione smiled at him.

"Oi! Open the door!" Seamus voice said and Harry put down the charms and opened the door.

"Sorry," Harry said.

"You know when you take a bird up to a room and lock yourself in, you're not supposed to have her brother in the room too," Seamus said nodding his head at Ron.

"That's not what was going on," Harry said.

"We know that, Harry," Dean said. "You were having one of your secret meetings."

"Er …" Harry didn't know what to say to that, because it was what was happening, but Dean … nor anyone else … had said that to him before.

"Er … I meant that to be a joke," Dean mumbled.

"Oh," was all Harry could say now.

"Though Dean is right, it's not hard to tell when you three … er … four now I guess … are up to something," Neville said.

"Like you're one to talk Neville, weren't you a part of what happened last year?" Dean rolled his eyes.

"Not really … they just … er … never mind," Neville said, remembering that he wasn't supposed to say anything.

"And that's my point right there," Dean chuckled before he turned to Harry with a frown. "We get it, you know. That you've got other things to worry about than just classes." He paused there looking thoughtful before he added, "we'll be there you know … if and when you need help."

"Thanks Dean," Harry smiled at him, glad for the offer of help, but seeing as they were all in the DA there wasn't much more that they could do now. "But right now the only help you can give me is getting to bed. And that goes for you two as well," he added nodded his head to the Weasleys, "we've got a big game tomorrow."

"Right you are, captain," Dean smiled at them. The girls left and everyone started getting ready for bed.

The next day, Harry had been surprised to find that Malfoy wasn't going to be at the game. Tonks had told him months ago that Malfoy had his memories back and that he was working with Snape, but he had not see Malfoy except during classes. It seemed odd to him that Malfoy would miss a game. He was sure that Malfoy would have taken Quidditch as one of the few bright spots after trying so hard to fight against Voldemort. When he mentioned this to Ron, his friend just shrugged.

"Maybe he doesn't have time to play," Ron said. "But this is a good thing, I doubt their new Seeker can be any good."

"I supposed that's true," Harry chuckled, Ron was in full Quidditch mode right now he wasn't going to let anything else bother him. It turned out to be one of the best games the team had ever played. Ron had been excellent as the Keeper, keeping a clean sheet and the Chasers scored fifteen times before Harry finally caught the Snitch. Ron had been right, the Slytherin Seeker had been horrible and Gryffindor had their greatest victory over Slytherin in thirty years.

**A/N: I'm not really sure if I like this chapter or not, but I really wanted to get one out today and seeing as I just had two chapters on Thursday this should be good. I'm not sure if you could tell or not, but I didn't really know what I was going to have Dumbledore teach Harry in the lessons, I just hope that part made sense, since it was the only part of the this chapter that moved the story along. I think the next chapter will have Draco in it … I though it would be nice to see where he's at. **


	29. Threat

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Threat

Draco Malfoy bowed his head as he waited his mandatory hours in the Room of Requirement. It was starting to really annoy him, this whole facade that he had to keep up so that his cover wasn't blown. He understood why it was necessary for him to continue going to the room at first. He had to learn a special branch of Occlumency from Snape. It had not been easy. He had spent months practicing and building up a wall from his inner thoughts while at the same time letting anyone that searched his mind see what they wanted to see. After a month Snape had told him that his progress in this matter was coming around quickly, however, there was still so much more work he had to do. Draco understood why Snape would say that though, it wasn't like he had to prove himself against just any Legilimens … he had to prove himself against Voldemort. Or at least be prepared to do so if necessary, (and his life would depend upon his skill).

It had been hard work, but he felt a sense of purpose as he learned the new technique. Then Snape went and said that his shield was as good as they could make it before Christmas break. Now all he could do was fill his time with walking through the steps he would have taken if he really was trying to figure out a way to get Death Eaters into the Castle. By doing that, it would get him closer to killing Dumbledore. Snape had said that the more images in his false memories that were true, the more likely Voldemort was going to believe that Draco was doing what he said he was doing. But, really, all of this was tedious work. He hated that he had to keep up the pretense that he had started when his memory was gone. That he had bragged to so many people that he was doing something big. If only he had keep his mouth shut then, he wouldn't be in this room right now, pretending to fix a stupid cabinet. He won't have had to quite the Quidditch team, and spend hours doing nothing.

He looked at his watch and sighed in relief. It had been two hours since he got into the Room of Requirement, and that was enough time for today. He knocked on the door and waited to hear the sign from Golye that it was safe for him to come out. Once he heard it he walked out of the room. It was hard trying not to look at the first year girl that was really Golye, as he made his way to the Great Hall for dinner.

Tomorrow morning he was going home and he wasn't sure how he felt about that. The good thing was he wouldn't have to go back into the stupid Room of Requirement for a while. The bad thing was that he was likely to come face to face with Voldemort again and that terrified him.

At that thought, he quickly checked his shield, made sure to add the new useful memories to it and hoped it would be enough to keep him, and his mother, safe.

O

In the last six months things had not gone like they were supposed to. The glaring example had been the Ministry debacle. His servants had failed to get the prophecy for him and Potter had survived, despite being hit by the Killing Curse. He was no closer to finding out how Potter had survived now than he was when he first heard the news and that angered him. His attempts to get Ollivander had been thwarted by Dumbledore's lackies. He couldn't understand how the old man had learned of his desire to get the wandmaker, and worst, he still didn't know what had happened a year and a half ago when his wand met Potter's.

It was true that he recruited more and more people to his side on an almost daily basis and his Death Eaters were slowly making their ways though the Ministry, spreading his influence there. He should have felt happy about that but he wasn't. And it was all Potter's and Dumbledore's fault. He knew they were planning something but he could not guess what. It irked him that he did not have all the information he needed, for it made planning his next move much harder. After all Dumbledore had always been his biggest obstacle and Potter was someone that needed to be dealt with.

"I think it's time that we pay a little visit to the Malfoys," Voldemort hissed to Nagini, his snake, that was coiled in front of him. "Lets see how far the boy has gotten."

Within minutes of this proclamation, Voldemort was standing in the main room of Malfoy Manner making himself at home.

"My Lord …" a woman voice said and Voldemort's lips curled upwards at the note of fear in her voice. "To what do we owe the honor of your visit?" Narcissa asked, and Voldemort turned to face her, noticing the cold mask and her fear was no longer on display. He was impressed that she was so good at controlling her shock, but then again she was Bella's sister. It would be a shame if he would have to kill this woman, but her fate was in the boy's hands now.

"I would like to speak to Draco," Voldemort said, though it was clear in his voice that this was an order not a request.

Narcissa nodded her head at him before leaving the room and moments later Draco entered the room alone.

"Ah, Draco, how nice it is to see you again," Voldemort said smoothly, his eyes remaining cold as he looked at the boy. He noticed as once that Draco was nervous, the boy's hands were balled up into fist and he was trying his best to looking calm.

"My Lord," Draco said bowing his head.

"I was wondering how your task was progressing," Voldemort said, catching the boy's eyes and looking deep into them.

"I'm …" Draco said, swallowing hard. "I'm making progress, sir."

Voldemort frowned, as he looked through the boy's mind. It was clear that Draco had learned a bit of Occlumency since the last time that he had seen the boy. This wasn't much to worry about, all of his top Death Eaters had learned the silk to help them survive and as a Malfoy, he would know the importance of keeping one's mind in order. The boy was actually pretty good at shielding his mind, but Voldemort wasn't the best Legilimens for no reason. He saw cracks in the boy's wall.

It seemed that Draco had no longer trusted Snape, which was the main reason why he learned Occlumency in the first place. The boy shouldn't have bothered, Snape could break through this defenses as well … though Snape would have to use considerably more force than he had. He could then see Draco working on trying to repair an old cabinet … He could feel the boy's frustration on how slowly things had been going lately.

"But not as much progress as you expected to by now," Voldemort said coldly, looking away from the boy in disappointment. He had been surprised at first when he had recruited Draco. He had thought the boy had no chance of actually getting close to Dumbledore, but he had shown initiative and come up with an intriguing plan. Now, it seemed that the boy might have been over ambitious.

"I will figure it out," Draco said, trying to keep his voice firm, but it broke in odd places, showing his fear.

"I can be a patience man, Draco," Voldemort said looking into the fireplace. "But only for so long. You do not want to see what I'm like when my patience runs out."

Draco shivered at those words and it took him several minutes to be able to croak out, "No sir."

Voldemort turned back to Draco than, his eyes burning into the boys but this time not to read his mind, but to make sure Draco knows how powerful he was. "You have until the end of June, Draco, before I considered this mission a failure." Voldemort paused there before taking a step closer his voice lowing to a whisper but there was no chance that Draco would not hear him. "A failure that your family can't afford to make anymore."

Draco shuddered and looked at Voldemort in horror.

"I think we understand each other," Voldemort said.

O

"Draco?" Narcissa asked in a hush voice several minutes after Voldemort left. Draco didn't even look at her so she shook his shoulder. "Draco."

"Mother," Draco said looking at her, his face paler than usual and his eyes were out of focus, as if he couldn't see her at all.

"What happened?" Narcissa asked in a worried voice.

"He wants me to finish my task before the end of this year at Hogwarts," Draco said and Narcissa bowed her head. "If I don't … what he said … I think he's going to go after you … and Father."

"I imagine he would do that," Narcissa agreed.

"What am I supposed to do?" Draco groaned. "If Voldemort ever learns what I know … we're all dead. If I don't get the stupid cabinets to work … we're all dead.

"I knew this before … I knew it since the day I got my memory back …" Draco muttered to himself and then looked at his mother, looking much younger than he was and showing a vulnerability that he tried hard to never let anyone see. "It's different when you look into his eyes and know he's going to kill you … kill all of us."

"He's not going to kill you, Draco, I will never let that happen," Narcissa said firmly her hand griping his shoulder and giving it a squeeze.

"I don't want anything to happen to you," Draco said, knowing a promise like the one that his mother made was unlikely to mean much against Voldemort and if it did mean something his mother would likely get hurt or killed trying to keep it.

"Well, I don't plan on getting hurt," Narcissa said, smiling at him in a way that Draco could tell she was trying to cheer him up, but that wasn't likely to happen any time soon. "And we're not in this alone."

Draco grimaced at that, not really being cheered by her words. "I don't really care to be part of Potter, and his merry band of idiot's."

"Well, we have to use whoever we have now," Narcissa sighed.

Draco's grimace deepened. They had not yet spoken openly about what was going on, preferring to skate around the issue, but it seemed like that was pointless now. "Mother, how much do you know?"

"Not much," Narcissa frowned. "When Severus came here to take your memory I realized that he really must have been the spy that he was always suspected of being. When he told me that you were in danger, I had no choice but to make sure the Dark Lord never found out about what had happened."

"I'm sorry," Draco sighed. "I've put you in danger …"

"Draco," Narcissa said softly, touching his cheek and making him look into her eyes. "This isn't your fault. And I've already told you I would do anything to keep you safe."

"Thanks, Mother," Draco mumbled and then changed the subject. "And you're okay … with working with the goody two shoes."

"When I was just about your age, Draco, I chose to stay a part of my family," Narcissa said. "I chose to ignore the signs around me that pointed out the brutally of the war that was taking place. I knew that if I was with the man that I'd fallen in love with, that we could have a future … a family and we would be safe no matter which side won."

"But Father was part of the Death Eaters even back then," Draco said. "How could you be certain that nothing would have happened to him then?"

"Your father always had ways to get out of sticky situations," Narcissa said with a sad smile. "As long as he was not caught in the act …" she paused there to close her eyes, for that was what happened when Lucius was caught and sent to Azkaban, "I knew we would be safe."

"He had the Ministry in his pocket even back then, right," Draco's smile was sad too as he tried to take comfort from his mother's insistence that his father would have gotten out of any trouble. "Do you think you made the wrong choice?"

"I will never regret the choice I made," Narcissa said sadly, "even though it was wrong.

"I'm proud of you, you know. For making the right choice," Narcissa said, her smile was genuine.

"Even though it's going to get us all killed," Draco said dryly. Deep down though, he couldn't help but feel good, knowing that his mother was proud of him.


	30. Thoughts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty

Thoughts

Harry smiled as he laid down on the bed in his room at Grimmauld Place. Nothing really extraordinary happened that day, and that was part of the reason why he was so happy at the moment. He had gotten on the Hogwarts' Express and traveled back to London like most of the population of Hogwarts, though there were probably still some students and professors that stayed at the castle over the holidays. He had then been picked up by his godfather (along with Emmeline Vance who he was sure wasn't just there as more of a guard for him) and returned to the house that he had stayed at the last summer. Despite the fact that Grimmauld Place was still dark … and you could never say it was clean, he had to admit that it was a lot warmer place than the Dursleys' had ever been to him. He had just now finished a dinner with Sirius, Emmeline, Remus and Tonks. Harry had a completely normal day and he couldn't have been happier about it.

He had noticed something like this over the previous summer but it hadn't all sunk in then. He was never going to have to see the Dursleys again, or live in a home where he wasn't wanted. He had a home to go to now where people actually cared about him. He knew that he sort of had a home like that since he was twelve and Ron had rescued him from the Dursley's, because he had felt how much the Weasley had taken him in, in that moment. However, living with Sirius in this place was different than that.

Even with his positive thoughts going into bed, Harry had a fitful night and woke up early. He realized quickly with growing frustration what had caused his restlessness and got out of bed to get himself breakfast. He had barely started eating when someone else came into the room and he wasn't sure which one of them was more surprised.

"You're up early aren't you, Harry?" Sirius noted and turned to put a pot on the stove.

"I guess," Harry shrugged and Sirius turned back to him, eyeing his godson closely.

"You want to tell me what's on your mind?" Sirius asked and Harry just grimaced into his bowl of cereal. "Fine, I'll just pretend I didn't see your rapid mood swing."

"That would be appreciated," Harry said, a grin coming to his face briefly.

Sirius made a face at Harry before he turned around again and continued to get his breakfast in order. Neither one of them said anything as Sirius sat across the table from Harry and put the bowl and coffee cup down. "So how have classes been going."

"Didn't I tell you all about that last night," Harry reminded him.

"I supposed, but you know I don't do well in silence … we've got to talk about something," Sirius shrugged.

"Then let's talk about you Sirius," Harry said and grinned at his godfather. "I've noticed that you and Emmeline have gotten closer."

"You can say that," Sirius grinned widen. "She's a hell of a woman."

"I'm glad to hear that," Harry chuckled. "And I'm glad that she's here for you … I was afraid that you'd be miserable here when I left to go to school."

"Nah, I was glad to see you go," Sirius teased and Harry stuck out his tongue. Sirius looked over at Harry again with a critical eye and sighed. He wasn't one to talk about his feelings much, but he could tell that there was something weighing heavily on Harry's mind right now and if he was open with his godson, maybe the boy would be more open with him.

"Do you have any idea how jealous I was when your dad first started dating your mum?" Sirius asked and Harry looked at him oddly, obviously shaken by the turn in the conversation. "I was confident I could get any girl I wanted when I was your age. In fact I was a smug little prick back than."

"Not much had changed then," Harry said dryly and Sirius shook his head with a grin.

"You're too much like your father for you own good, Harry," Sirius retorted, still grinning, which now was matched by Harry's. "As I was saying … I was confident about getting any girl I wanted, but I knew that any relationship I had wouldn't last long. But it was different with James. He always knew what he wanted and he was going to make sure it would last. I envied him for that.

"I was a bit jealous of Remus too, when I first heard that he was … will be going out with Tonks," Sirius added, his eyes had been blurry and he had obviously been remembering old times.

"Really? You didn't seemed jealous when we read that?" Harry said surprised. "You seemed happy."

"Well of course I was happy," Sirius said rolling his eyes. "I'm not a complete jerk, you know. I'm glad my friend found someone that could not only overlook his furry little problem but could also make him over look it."

"Don't forget to mention that she's your cousin and that makes him part of your family now," Harry tacked on and Sirius chuckled.

"A very good point, too," Sirius said and then added more seriously. "I didn't stop me from being jealous. I can be happy and jealous at the same time."

"You're not jealous anymore," Harry said looking over Sirius's expression.

"No, I'm not," Sirius said. "I never really thought this would happen. Honestly, I thought James was the only one of us that would settle down. But here I am, and old man just starting to think about the future."

"You not that old," Harry said. "You're like what … fifty right."

"FIFTY!" Sirius gasped and then glared at the now laughing Harry. "You can't tell me I look fifty."

"No, you don't look a day older than forty-eight."

"I'm thirty-eight you prat and you better remember that," Sirius grumbled, still glaring at Harry.

"So … er … you think she might be the one?" Harry asked after he controlled his laughter, his tone now serious.

Sirius was thoughtfully for a long time before he said, "she's the only person I've ever seen a future with. And she makes me think that I might actually have that."

Harry frowned at that and looked away from his godfather then.

Sirius was sure that there was more meaning behind the grimace, and that it probably had something to do with Harry's gloomy mood, because the boy was starting to get that look in his eye again.

"What about you, Harry?" Sirius asked, knowing better than asking what was troubling him again. "How are things with Ginny?"

"Good," Harry said trying to sound normal but he couldn't put the right infliction in the word at that moment.

"Really?" Sirius questioned, he was the one grimacing now. "Are you having problems."

"No," Harry shook his head and turned to give his godfather a half smile that seemed genuine and yet he still seemed troubled. "It's been great with Ginny. Everything is perfect."

"Than why do you look so miserable?" Sirius asked softly.

Harry looked away from him and didn't say anything for so long that Sirius was sure he wasn't going to answer when Harry finally did speak. "I feel like I'm living a perfect … and normal life. I'm with the person that I see a future with and I know what I want …" he smiled at Sirius, but it was still sad, "I'm living here with you and I feel like I'm part of a family. I felt that way at the Weasleys too of course … but this is _my_ family, not my best friend's."

Sirius couldn't help but grin proudly at that as Harry tried to think of what he had to say next.

"When I'm in the moment, it's perfect …" Harry started.

"That's the third time you said perfect," Sirius noted, frowning now. Perfect should be a good word but the way that Harry said it, it didn't seem that way.

"It's an illusion," Harry said bitterly. "Nothing can be perfect as long as he's still out there."

"Harry, you can't worry …" Sirius started to say but Harry looked up to glare at him.

"Don't tell me not to worry!" Harry huffed. "I don't just fear this … it's a fact. At some point, I'm going to have to face Voldemort, probably accompanied by his Death Eaters and I have no idea if I will survive. If she will … or Ron and Hermione … you. We decided to change the future … what if more people get killed because of us. What if he wins …

"The better things get in my life the more I fear that it's going to be taken away … that he's going to take it away," Harry groaned, his hands now balled in tight fist. He couldn't stand the idea of everything being taken away, but at the same time it felt nice to actually say his fear out loud to someone.

"There's nothing I can say to you, Harry, that can take that fear away from you," Sirius said sadly, getting up so he could sit next to Harry, placing his hands on the boy's shoulders. "We have no idea what will happen and I can't guaranty anyone's safety … not in time like this."

"Thanks for the encouragement," Harry muttered, but despite the words, what Sirius said was helping, if only because he knew his godfather wasn't sugar coating things. "But don't let him take away from your … perfect life at the moment."

"But …"

"I lost everything in the last war," Sirius pressed on before Harry could say more, his voice was gruffy. "And a lot of it was my fault … but that won't change the fact that I was glad that I had those precious moments with my friends …. and you too kid."

Harry smiled at him and then admitted, "Don't worry … I take full advantageous of the good feelings while I can."

"It's just when you have time to think that it bears down on you and it's hard to imagine that everything is going to work out?" Sirius asked and gave Harry his own painful look.

"Yeah," Harry said blinking slowly, because that was how he felt. "How did you know that?"

"We all feel that way sometimes," Sirius shrugged. "At least anyone with half a brain."

"Again …. how did you know that?"

"Oy, I'll have you know I got five O's on my O.W.L's and N.E.W.T's," Sirius huffed.

"Only five," Harry said, trying to hide that he was impressed. "I would have thought you would have gotten more O.W.L's at least."

"Why?" Sirius snorted. "I only needed to pass the five classes to become what I wanted, why bother passing the other classes?" then Sirius started laughing, "you should have seen the answers I wrote down for those other classes … I didn't even get the first year questions right. You should of heard what Professor Sinstras said about me. She couldn't seemed to understand how a man named after a star couldn't even find himself in the sky … especially with someone as vain as I was."

"What did you want to be?" Harry asked, happy for Sirius's distraction and feeling better about his own problems. It wasn't like Sirius could stop him from worrying … he would never stop until either Voldemort or he was dead, but it was nice to know that he wasn't the only one that was doing it. And it was nice to be distracted.

"An Auror," Sirius answered and smiled at Harry's shocked expression. "Me and James wanted to be partners."

"The apple doesn't fall far from the tree, does it?" Harry muttered to himself and he smiled at this piece of information. "Did you ever become Aurors?"

"Nah," Sirius shook his head. "We joined the Order instead. Of course we could have been in the Order and Aurors as well, but Madeye thought we would be less recognized at first as Order members if we didn't become Aurors."

"Or he just didn't want to train you," Harry said smiling.

"Now you're starting to sound like Moony," Sirius huffed. "James and I also had the benefit of being independently wealthy, which means we didn't need a job and we could spend our time working for the Order full time. It was the right thing to do."

Harry and Sirius continued to talk about things, though nothing to do with the fears that Harry had mention earlier and they didn't seem to need to. Soon they were joined by Remus and Tonks. Needless to say, Harry was sufficiently distracted from his dreary thoughts.


	31. Christmas Interrupted

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-One

Christmas Interrupted

"Why are we having Christmas dinner here and not at the Burrow?" Harry asked Sirius as they waited in the living room for their guess to arrive. He was confused, because before today the plan was that they were going to go to the Weasleys.

"We're going to have a few more guess than we thought we would," Sirius answered with a conflicted look and Harry raised an eyebrow at him. "Well first off Percy just told us that Scrimgeour is going to try to get you on your own today by using him."

"Oh," Harry said making a face at the thought of having to talk to the new Minister face to face. "Okay, I can see why we wouldn't want to go there now … er … but why did you say first off."

"Because there's other reason why it's preferable that the dinner is here," Sirius said. "There was just going to be too many people for the Burrow … our dinning room is bigger here."

Harry was sure there was more to this, but he was also sure that Sirius didn't want to say it right now. He thought it would be better if he just let it go, because whatever it was he was sure he wasn't going to like it and he had a feeling Sirius was trying to make sure he didn't think about this right now. Luckily, it was then that some of their guess showed up in the form of The Tonkses. Harry was still amazed by the fact that he had first thought Andromeda looked just like Bellatrix, now he could hardly see the similarity between the two sisters.

Soon after the arrival of the Tonkses, the Weasley twins came, wearing matching dragon skin jackets and smiling broadly. They were closely followed by the rest of their family and things got really noisy in at Grimmauld Place. It was chaos as Molly prepared the meal with the help of Andromeda. They kicked everyone else out of the kitchen to wait for dinner in the living room. However, the meal was well worth the wait and it felt nice, to Harry, that his assorted family was all assembled. There was a missing key member of said family, though.

"What's the matter Harry?" Ginny asked noticing after hearing Harry sigh.

"I was just thinking about Hermione … I wish she was here, you know," Harry shrugged.

"You sound like Ron," Ginny rolled her eyes. "He's been moping around the house since vacation started."

"She's his girlfriend," Harry shrugged, as if that justified any mopiness in Ron.

"I know, but it's only been three days since then … you don't see me moping around because I didn't see you the last few days," Ginny said.

"But you knew you would see me today … we're not going to see Hermione for two weeks," Harry pointed out. "And I just brought it up because I was thinking about my family … you know I think this is the first Christmas since first year that Hermione wasn't here."

"Maybe we should have invited the Grangers to come here," Ginny said.

"That would have been a good idea," Ron said from behind them and the two jumped. "Sorry … did I surprise you," he smirked at them. "Mum said she wanted us to clear the plates, Harry."

"Okay," Harry said getting up. "How are you Ron?"

"I'm sure you got how I am when Ginny said I was moping around," Ron shrugged.

"How long were you listening to us," Harry frowned but before Ron could answer there was a knock at the door that had everyone staring at it cautiously. Sirius got up and walked to the door, closely followed by Remus with Arthur and Emmeline not far behind them. Harry thought it was odd that everyone looked nervous expect Sirius, who looked worried but like he knew who was there. Indeed, when he opened the door (after checking to see who was there) he didn't look surprised, where as everyone else was, when Narcissa and Draco Malfoy walked through the door.

"What are you doing here?" Ron demanded of the blonde haired boy but Draco just snared at him.

"They had a few things they wanted to talk about," Sirius said. "There's going to be a meeting in a few hours … aren't you a little early Cissy?"

"We won't be able to make that meeting … the Dark Lord has called one of his own," Narcissa said frowning. "I wouldn't have come at all, but I have a bad feeling about what is going to happen. He has only called meetings like this when he's about to plan something big."

"Do you have any idea what it will be?" Sirius asked. "What he's planning."

"No," Narcissa shook her head. "I am not part of his inner circle. Severus was the one to tell us about the meeting, but because Bella was there he could not say more than what the Dark Lord wanted us to know."

"Why isn't Snape the one that's telling us then?" Fred asked.

"He is being watched closely," Draco said, who had many conversations with Snape in the last few months about the difficulties of being a spy and the precarious position the potion master was in.

"You don't have any detail at all about what he's planning?" Remus asked this time, looking thoughtful.

"No," Narcissa repeated.

"Then I'm not sure why you came here …" Sirius started to say, frowning.

"We're risking our lives and you …" Draco started to say, glaring at Sirius fiercely.

"That's my point exactly," Sirius said sadly. "It's a risk coming here."

"We had no other way of contacting you," Narcissa said. "And I know enough to understand that whatever is going to happen will happen tonight … you needed to be prepared."

"Still, you shouldn't have come yourself," Sirius frowned. "You could have sent a house elf to us or something."

"Our house elf's have been order not to say anything to anyone about what happens in our house," Narcissa said and then looked at Harry. "After what happened with a certain elf, the punishment for disobeying that order is that elf would die."

"That's a bit harsh, isn't it?" Ron said, grimacing because he couldn't help but think about what Hermione would say to that. Narcissa just stared at him blankly. Not liking the look at all, Ron added on, "if you could put that kind of punishment on the elves, than why would you care if you used it to give a message. And now that I think of it, if you ordered them, then they wouldn't have to die would the."

"Lucius had made sure only he could make overrule this order," Narcissa said. "And the elf would not have been able to say anything to all to you before it would …"

"Okay, we get it," Ron grumbled.

"And we will be prepare for something to happen," Arthur added looking like he was trying to figure out what they were going to have to be worried about. "How are you going to let us know what it is?"

"Take this," Draco said throwing a coin to Harry, who looked at it. "It will show you a message as soon as we know anything."

"What is this?" Harry asked.

"It's just a coin that I was using early in this year," Draco shrugged, thinking about what he had done when he didn't have all of his memories. He was sure it wouldn't be a good idea if he let the other here knew that he had cursed Madam Rosmerta and gave her the coin that was now in Harry's hand so that she could be his spy. He was just glad that he already had the coin set up because he wouldn't have had the time nor the opportunity to do it in time to be useful now. "It's similar to the one you use for your DA meetings last year … that's where I got the idea from."

Harry nodded his head, after looking at the coin, he could see what Draco was talking about and how this would work for what they needed.

"We have to go," Narcissa said, "We are supposed to be at Draco's grandparents house. Bellatrix has been wary of me lately and there's a chance she might try to check up on me and make sure I got there on time."

"Narcissa wait."

Narcissa paused at the door and then turned back to face the sister she hadn't seen in almost twenty years. "Andromeda?"

The two had so much between them, the years of not seeing each other and the reasons why they hadn't, but as they stared at each other, it was clear a loosening of some of the tension occurred.

"It's good to see you," Andromeda said.

"And you," Narcissa said and it was clear that she would have liked to stay to talk to her sister but it wasn't a good idea for right now.

"We'll see each other again … soon," Andromeda said in an understanding way and Narcissa nodded before she left with Draco.

"You didn't tell me …" Andromeda then said, she had been looking at the door her sister had just appeared and left within five minutes. She was now looking at Sirius. "Why didn't you tell me that she …"

"You're not part of the Order, Andy," Sirius started to say and then quelled under her glare.

"She's my sister," Andromeda said looking and then blinked, as if sister was a foreign word for her, and considering the fact that it felt like she didn't have a sister for so long it pretty much was.

"I know," Sirius said. "I was going to tell you about her coming here … but I wanted to wait until dinner was over … it being Christmas and all."

"Tell me what happened Sirius … how she came to be helping you," Andromeda said and Sirius led her from the room so that they could talk.

"We're going to have to contact the other Order members," Remus said. "I'll get in touch with Hesita and Diggle … Arthur, contact Kingsley and Madeye. Tonks you should go to Hogwarts and tell everyone there …"

"Do you think they're going to let us be involved in whatever it is that's happening," Ron whispered to Harry, frowning at the Order members in a way that made it clear that he didn't think that they would be doing anything.

"Probably not," Harry had to agree with Ron's thoughts. "But we'll see won't we."

In about an hour Grimmauld Place was filled with people as the Order waited for the message of what kind of attack was being planned. Harry was relieved that at the very least, they were allowed to stay for the meeting but he still felt like he wouldn't be doing any more.

"... that is so not fair," Harry heard Ginny say and he looked at her and noticed that she was talking to Fred and George.

"What's not fair about it?" Fred asked. "We graduated, we should be full members of the Order now."

"I think what's not fair is that we aren't allowed to do anything," Ron said, who was sitting on the other side of Harry, but had obviously been in on the conversation more than Harry was. "We're not looking forward to be sitting around and doing nothing again," Ron said indicated himself and Ginny, who was nodded her head.

"You remember how hard it was when everyone went to the Ministry last summer and we had to stay behind," Ginny added and the twins actually seemed to look genuinely sympathetic to their siblings.

"What do you think the Death Eaters are planning?" Harry asked, because there was nothing that could be done about whether or not they were allowed to do anything. "Something public I'd bet."

"Yeah, but they did public things before didn't they … why would we need to be warned like this, this time?" Ron said frowning. "It doesn't make sense why things would be different now."

"Maybe it's because the Malfoy's are playing spy too," George said. "I mean before only Snape could say anything … he wouldn't hear as much and … I don't know, it's got to help having more people on our side that are working for old Voldy."

"Maybe," Ron said slowly.

"All I think we could be sure of though, is that this didn't happen in the book's past," Harry said looking grim and noticed that they others were all looking at him now. "Or at the very least that we wouldn't know about this happening then."

"What are you talking about Harry?" Fred asked.

"We didn't have extra spies then, we wouldn't have heard about this … whatever the Death Eaters are going to do," Harry said. "This might be an ugly fight …" he paused and couldn't help but remember the feeling of dread that had been building in him and what Sirius had said to him just the other day. He looked at Ginny, "someone might get hurt, now, that we never thought would."

"I'm sure everything will be fine, Harry," Ginny said soothingly, though it was ruined by the fact that she didn't know what was going to happen. Before Harry could say anything more, Dumbledore stood up from his seat and the room became quiet quickly.

"As I'm sure you are all aware, we have been informed that something was going to happen tonight," Dumbledore started. "Seeing as we are not sure what it might be, I feel it is best if we organize in a way that will allow us to be prepared for many forms of attacks."

Everyone listened to the parings Dumbledore made, setting people up in teams of two's or three's with a clear leader of each group. If Harry wasn't sure if he would be left behind before the fact that he, Ron, and Ginny were a team he was positive now. If that was the group they were in, there was no way they were going to be allowed to go anywhere . Harry watched Dumbledore closely, waiting to know exactly when his headmaster would get the message of what was going to happen, for Dumbledore had Draco's coin now. Dumbledore looked at the coin with furrowed eyebrows as he read the message, and it was clear to Harry that Dumbledore was trying to figure out what Voldemort was really planning and didn't seemed to like what he was reading.

"Voldemort is going to try to pull off another mass breakout of Azkaban," Dumbledore said after a few moments of thinking. "Alastor, take yours, Bill's, and Sirius's team with you to secure the sight and Tonks go to the Ministry to let them know what's happening. We could use their help in this."

"What is it, Albus?" Kingsley said, seeming to notice that Dumbledore was thinking hard too.

"It doesn't make sense that this would be what Voldemort was after," Dumbledore said. "He would not need such a secret meeting for a attempt like this. I feel there is more to his plan that what we are aware of yet."

"And if there is more?" Arthur asked. "How would we find out …?"

He fell silent there, as Dumbledore raised his hand and looked at something that none of the others recognized. His grimace deepened as he looked at what could only be a message, though it came in a different form than the coin. "It appears there's to be another attack on the Ministry as well."

"What are we waiting for … we have to go?" Kingsley said.

"Actually I would like you to stay," Dumbledore said after a moment of thought. "I must go to the Ministry … whatever Voldemort has planned there must be important, but in case something else happens or if Alastor needs your help, it would be best if you stay here."

"I understand," Kingsley said, as everyone who remained at Grimmauld Place left except for Harry, Ron, Ginny, and the twins (who were part of Kingsley group in the original pairings).

It wasn't long after everyone took their leave that there was a rattling sound coming from the table that Dumbledore had been sitting next to. After a few seconds in which everyone looked at each other as if deciding which one of them was going to see what it was, Harry got up and found the coin that Draco had given him. The coin had two words written on it in letters that were still glowing red form the change. Harry's heart hammered in his chest as he read:

_The Grangers._


	32. To the Rescue

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Two

To the Rescue

Hermione laughed as she listened to her dad tell stories about how dangerous little Tommy Anderson was as a patient. Though only a few hours ago she was missing her friends, especially Ron, she had to admit that it was a good thing that she decided to stay home this year for Christmas. She missed being around her parents and she also missed decorating and celebrating Christmas the muggle way.

"... and I swear he was going to try and bite me again," Duncan Granger said shaking his head.

"I think it's time you stop treating him, dad," Hermione laughed.

"I'd like to, but no one else will take him and his mum insists that he should come in for his regular check ups, no matter that he's terrified of me," he sighed.

"Enough about that," Juliet Granger said, "I want to hear more about you and Ron … especially what happened on your birthday."

"Argh do we have to talk about that," Duncan grumbled. "I would prefer teeth."

"Of course you would," Juliet rolled her eyes at her husband. "It's so romantic that he threw a ball for you … No one's ever done anything like that for me."

"Which I've had to hear several times over the last few months," Duncan pouted, "that kid really has made me look bad."

"I'm sorry Dad, I'll tell Ron not to do anything too extravagant in the future," Hermione said chuckling.

"Don't do that, I thrive of hearing things like that," Juliet said. "It's better than reading it in a novel …"

"Well I'm glad my life is so interesting to you," Hermione smiled. "And it really was an amazing birthday …"

"I think I'll go get the dessert," Duncan muttered giving the two time to talk about this on their own.

Before Juliet could ask for any details of that night, Hermione got up too, drawing silence from her mum. She wasn't sure what had tipped her off that something wasn't right, but acting on her unnerved feeling she walked to the window pulling out her wand.

"Hermione?" Juliet asked in a strained voice. "What is it?"

"I don't know," Hermione answered truthfully, "but it would be better if dad was in here too."

"What is it?" Duncan asked this time, as he came back in the room with a pie looking from his daughter to his wife's ridged stature.

"Someone's out there," Hermione said, though it seemed like she was talking to herself more than she was answering her dad's question. She couldn't explain how she knew this, because she couldn't see anyone near the house or even just standing around the block. The only possibility that she could reason was that whoever it was that was out there was outside of whatever protections that the Order had placed on her house to make sure that her family was safe. It seemed like she was about to find out if those wards were good enough. Hermione was thinking quickly of ways to get out of the house safely but nothing came to her mind. She didn't know how to apparate yet, not even having one lesson on the subject. She didn't know how to make a portkey. She didn't think that just getting in a car and driving away would be safe either, because it would make an easy target.

"I don't see anyone," Duncan said, he had come to stand next to her and look out the window too. He looked down at Hermione, who was deep in thought and knew that she at least was taking this seriously and that he should do the same. "What should we do?"

"Stay in here," Hermione said turning to look at her parents as she bit her lip. She hated that they were put in danger because of her.

"What was that?" Duncan said, he was still looking out of the window and by the time that Hermione looked she couldn't see anything.

"I didn't see anything," Hermione said, her eyes asking the question before she could form the words and her dad seemed to understand what she wanted to know what he had just seen.

"There was a flash … it only lasted a second, but it seemed … I don't know … it looked like a rock hitting water, it caused this sort of ripple effect in the air …" Duncan said frowning at the fact that he couldn't describe this better.

"That was probably the protective charms around our house being taken down," Hermione groaned, having read in a book what that effect would look like and this was close enough to that description that it made her shiver. She raised her wand then and started chatting protective spells of her own, the ones she had been looking into in her free time at Hogwarts. She especially looked into the ones that were alluded to being useful in the book they had read the previous Christmas.

She could tell that her parents were terrified, and that they wanted to know what she was doing right now, but neither one of them said anything. Duncan just walked over to the fireplace and picked up the poker and shovel that was near it, handing the poker to his wife and keeping the shovel. He was sure that it wouldn't be useful if wizards were going to attack them, but he wasn't about to stand there empty handed .

The door suddenly opened, though it appeared like no one was there. However, in the next second a large vicious looking man appeared.

"It seems that we can't come into this house unseen," a voice from behind the man said.

"What?" the man turned to look behind him just as a tall woman with shinny black hair and heavy linden eyes walked into the house. "You're visible again," the man added as he looked at her, his tone surprised.

"I know I'm visible you idiot, so are you," the woman snarled impatiently at him, "go upstairs and I'll make sure that no one's down here." As she said this her eyes traveled to the three standing in silence before she turned to go to the kitchen.

"Hermione," Duncan whispered in awe that the others didn't seem to be able to see them, but more shocked about the way that his daughter was reacting to seeing the intruders. Her mouth seemed to be open, her eyes wide and her hand shaking … she was terrified.

Hermione turned to look at her dad and swallowed back the fear she was feeling. She would not let the fact that Bellatrix Lestrange, one of the most dangerous people alive, and what she feared might have been Fenrir Greyback make it so she was too afraid to move. She had to be strong, because she was the only one that could protect her parents.

"We should get out of here," Juliet said, her eyes were on the door that was left open. Hermione was sure that they could make it to the door, but once they were outside there was no guaranty that they wouldn't be chased and caught. Not to mention she had a feeling that there were more people outside, just waiting for that to happened. As if in answer to her thought, she saw something run out the door in a ginger blur and she saw the purple light flash out.

"Idiot, it was just a cat," she heard a voice said in a reprimanding tone. Hermione hoped that Crookshanks hadn't been hit by whatever curse was used, especially since he had just confirmed her fear that they couldn't just leave the house.

Bellatrix walked back into the hallway coming from the direction of the dinning room where they had just been eating their meal. Her brows where furrowed and it looked as if she knew something wasn't quite right here.

"There's no one here," Greyback said coming back down the stairs.

"No, their meal is still warm … the lights are on," Bellatrix said. "They're here."

"I don't see them … I don't even smell them," Greyback said indignantly, as if angry that she would question his assessment. "They must have left out the back."

Bellatrix seemed to consider this for a moment and Hermione found herself praying that she would listen to that and leave the house. "No … I don't think that's what happened …" Bellatrix said looking around the room. "Can't you feel the magic in the air … I think they're hiding right under our noses."

Preparing for the worst, Hermione raised her wand again, giving her dad a pointed look as she decided that they couldn't just sit there. She would have done this sooner, but she could tell that the witch before her was expecting an attack and was already on guard.

Just as she made up her mind to do something, there was a shout from someone outside of the house. Bellatrix actually turned as if to look at her, Hermione knew it was time to act, now.

O

"What does it say Harry?" Ron asked as he looked at his friend's horrified expression. He felt his heart pounding in his chest and he could almost see what had to be on the coin himself.

"The Grangers," Harry choked out, because there was no time to be scared …. there was only time to act. "We have to get to Hermione's house now!"

"No Harry! You can not …!" Kingsley started to say. Harry glared at him but it was Ron that spoke.

"We are going!" Ron said in a cold threatening voice that left nothing up to argue. "There's no question of that … if you don't take us, we will find another way there! And so help me if she is hurt ….!" he didn't seemed to be able to finish that sentence as pain and anger filled his expression.

"We won't dream of stopping you," Fred said, grabbing Ron's shoulder. "Come on, I'll apparate you … George you got Harry."

"Of course," George agreed and followed as Fred and Ron were closely followed by Harry and Ginny.

"I see I don't have a say in this matter … Molly is going to kill me," Kingsley said frowning, though he could have probably cursed them all and gone alone, he was also sure that he needed back up if he was going to be any use in saving Hermione and her parents. "But you're all going to have to listen to me from now on."

The Weasleys and Harry nodded their heads, knowing that he did have the most experience in a situation like this.

"We'll work in partners … Fred and George, Harry and Ron and Ginny you will be with me … assuming that you want to come," Kingsley said.

"Yes," Ginny answered immediately, looking determined.

Kingsley nodded his head. "Harry and Ron as soon as we apparate to the street, you will make your way to the house. Fred, George, Ginny and I will work our way around the outside … In most Death Eaters attacks there are several people on watch and I would bet they would have back up tonight." Kingsely paused and looked at Harry and Ron, "If we get there before the Death Eaters do, obviously try to get the Grangers to us so we can all apparate out of there. If you need to get out of the house quickly break the seal on this," he added handing Harry a container that had something in side. "There's a portkey to St. Mungo's in there that all Aurors are given for emergency. Make sure that everyone is holding onto you when you use it … it would make you like the portkey and as long as the others are touching you, they will be transported too.

"No matter what happens, Harry … Ron, if you go inside the Granger house, you must leave by the portkey," Kingsley added giving them a stern look. "Your job is to get the Grangers out of the house. You will not come back outside."

"What if we see you're hurt?" Harry asked, his eyes flicking over to Ginny as if he feared that she would somehow get hurt. "What if you need more help?"

"If you come back out of that house you will only make our job harder," Kingsley said. "We would have to wait until we got to you before we could leave … you can not apparate on your own and I don't have any more portkeys to give you. You have to have trust in us to get out of there without you coming back."

Harry didn't like what he was hearing, but he didn't have any other choice but the except what Kingsley was saying. Harry nodded his head, put the container in his pocket and got ready to be apparated to the Grangers. It seemed like no one had anything else to say as they all looked at each other for another second before they were gone.

They all landed in the street in the same area, but as soon as they got there they went in the directions that Kingsley had told them. Harry was a step behind Ron as they ran to Hermione's house, because he wasn't sure which one it was, but Ron had gone with his dad to pick her up for the summer a few years ago. As they reached Hermione's front yard, the boy heard Kingsley's shout a spell, but they didn't stop running, though they could see the after effects of said spell. Whatever it was that Kingsley had said, caused several black shadows to appear out of nowhere and Harry only had a second to realize that they were people before he shoved Ron to ground … a green light sailing over their heads.

"Keep going Ron … I'll get this guy," Harry said and then pulled out the container Kingsley had given him and threw it to Ron. Ron turned his back on his best friend, knowing there was no time to argue and that he needed to get into the house now. As he ran for the door he could hear curses being yelled from both behind him and in front and all he could do was push himself forward.

"Stupefy!" Ron shouted and a man fell to the ground after being hit in the back. Ron ran to the man and said the spell that would bind him with ropes and noticed that there was another man on the ground near him. Ron had a sickening feeling that it was Hermione's dad but he couldn't tell by the direction he was laying in. It was clear he was knocked out … or worst.

"Hermione's in the dinning room!" a shrill woman's voice said and Ron looked up to see that it was Hermione's mum standing with a metal poker in her hand looking terrified. "There's another witch …"

"Hit this guy if he moves at all," Ron said not needing any more incentive to keep going. He turned and went through the door that Hermione's mum had pointed to and saw the most terrifying sight of the night. Bellatrix was laughing triumphantly as she moved her wand, just about to cast some awful curse and Hermione was looking at her, her expression pained as she tried to raise her own wand in defense but it didn't seem like she had enough energy to move yet.

Ron didn't have time to think about anything, one second he was standing by the door and the next he was running towards Hermione. He wasn't sure what his intentions was, but all he knew was that he had to get to her before Bellatrix's curse did and he was sure he wasn't going to make it. He pushed that thought out of his head and forced his legs to move faster than he ever had in his life. As he jumped across the table his eyes meet with Hermione's for a second that seemed to last forever and he could see that they were wide in shock and panic. Then it felt like a knife had sliced into his shoulder blade as the curse hit him in the back and he hit the floor with the force of his momentum and his breath was knocked out of him. As he felt his strength waning, he heard a guttural voice scream, Adava Kedavra, then he passed out to darkness.

O

Hermione knew that it had only been minutes since the shouting outside but so much had changed during that time that she couldn't believe it was true. She had tried to curse Bellatrix when the witch had been distracted, knowing it was her only opportunity to act. Bellatrix however seemed to sense or maybe realize that she made a mistake because she jumped out of the way and the hex that Hermione sent at her hit the opposite wall. She noticed that her dad had hit his target with the fireplace shovel and the werewolf doubled over from the surprise attack. However, the werewolf quickly recovered from his shock and she heard a growl come out him.

"He's not going to stop … keep hitting him," Hermione shouted and then realized that she had been standing still too long (after casting the curse, she was able to be seen by anyone). She ducked behind the couch and she heard something smash against the wall and was sure that she had moved just in time.

"You're actually not half bad …" a chilling cheerful Bellatrix said. "I can't wait til I can have fun with you."

A vision of being tortured came to Hermione's mind unwillingly, but hearing her dad yell in pain and then a thumping sound and another grunt of pain from Greyback snapped her back to reality. She didn't have time to worry about what will happen … she had to keep fighting.

She couldn't remember the sequence of the fight, but she knew that she had somehow been forced out of the living room and into the dinning room. She was casting spells as quickly as she could, but it didn't seemed to be fast enough. She was hit by something that knocked her off her feet and threw her against the wall.

"Did you really think you could be a match for me," Bellatrix said in a sing song voice. Hermione struggled to get back on her feet, knowing that another curse was about to be thrown at her but she couldn't seem to make her body move quickly enough. She tried to raise her arm as the next curse was cast, knowing she wouldn't have time to defend herself. Then she saw him. The flash of ginger hair that caught her eye. Though she would have thought it impossible, she had taken her attention off of Bellatrix and looked to see Ron running towards her. When he leaped in front of her, their eyes met and she could see his determination and then pain when he was hit by the curse meant for her.

She felt a sickening fear as she watched Ron hit the ground with a thump … and then her heart harden as she heard Bellatrix's laughter … She felt anger like she had never known fill her being as a curse came to her lips that she'd never thought she would use.

"Avada Kedavra!"

Bellatrix eyes widened as she dove for the door that lead to the kitchen with the curse just sailing over her shoulder.

"Collapus," Hermione said through gritted teeth, still filled with anger but knowing she couldn't go after the witch and it would be dangerous if Bellatrix was to come back. Knowing it wouldn't be enough, she transformed the door into solid wall and then sealed the whole wall with a powerful shielding charm.

Only then could she look at Ron and kneel next to him. Tears started to fill her eyes as she looked at him, fearing that he had been killed. She turned him over slowly, and let out a breath when she saw that he was breathing and felt a pulse in his wrist.

"If you ever do that again Ronald Weasley… I will kill you myself," Hermione said in a tearful voice, not caring that Ron was unconscious at the moment, she didn't think she could take watching him jump in front of a curse for her again. "You better be okay!" she added because she realized she didn't know what had happened to him … there might still be some danger. She realized that she too wasn't out of danger when she heard the door to the living room open and fear for her parents filled her heart. Still she pointed her wand at whoever was coming through the door to the living room.

"Harry," Hermione let out a breath when she saw him.

"Are you okay?" Harry said, his eyes looking around the room, taking in the scene, his eyes finally resting on the unconscious Ron.

"He jumped in front of a curse for me," Hermione said in a voice that was so unlike her normal one. "He's breathing … but I don't know … I don't know what curse …. My parents … are they …." she couldn't think straight as the events of the day starting to come back her.

"Your dad was scratched up pretty badly …. and he's unconscious but I think …" Harry started to say but he couldn't finish, because he didn't know what would happen. "Your mum said there's another witch …"

"Bellatrix," Hermione said and Harry's eyes widened in fear.

"We can't stay here … can you move Ron?"

"I need help," Hermione said, starting to get up and trying to lift Ron up too. Harry was on the other side of him by the time she had him sitting up. The two of them carried Ron to the living room where Hermione's mum was leaning over her dad. Harry put his hand in Ron's pocket and pulled out the container Kingsley had given him.

"Everyone hold onto me," Harry said, and rest his leg against Mr. Grangers and he looked out to the front door, wondering what the others were doing … wondering if they were okay. It killed him to leave like this, and he was almost tempted to hand the container to Hermione, but Kingsleys voice telling him that he would only put them in more risk if he left the house rang in his ears. He hoped that he was doing the right thing as he opened the container and poured what appeared to be a marble out of it. Then he felt the familiar pull at his navel.


	33. What Happened

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Three

What Happened

Harry was sitting staring at the closed door across the way, lost in his thought. After they had appeared in the appointed portkey spot that St Mungo's set aside for emergency cases, a rush of healers came over to them asking questions. When they realized that they were in the presence of The Harry Potter, the air in the room seemed to electrify and there was a buzz about the people. Harry was just pleased that they seemed to be too professional to gawk at him long and hurried to the aid of Ron and Mr. Granger quickly.

They also looked over Mrs. Granger, Hermione and himself. Though he wasn't hurt at all, it seemed that Mrs. Granger hand minor cuts to be attended to and Hermione had a concussion … an after effect of a curse she had been hit with. She didn't seem to care about herself as she looked at the wizard attending to Ron and it took several minutes for her to sit still and let the healers deal with her.

After the healer left her, Harry had gone over to sit next to her, wrapping an arm around her shoulder and she leaned into his embrace, though her eyes were either fixed on Ron or her dad. They didn't say anything as they watched the healers work and soon Hermione's mum joined them, sitting on the other side of her daughter. Harry wasn't sure how long it took the healers to work, but after a time someone came over to them and said that both Ron and Mr. Granger were stable, Harry realized that he had more questions to ask. Harry got up then, not wanting to talk about this in front of the Grangers, who were dealing with so much right now, and answered the Healers questions about how he was able to get a Auror's emergence portkey and other details of the attack. After this conversation, which Harry could hardly remember, Ron and Mr. Granger were moved to rooms for their recovery, which just happened to be across from each other.

Before he could leave the emergency room, there was another person brought in that he recognized was Kingsley. He looked around the room in a panic trying to see if the three Weasleys that were with him were in the room as well but he didn't see them (and they would stand out with their ginger hair). He tried to move over to where Kingsley was to see if he was okay but someone grabbed him and pushed him out of the emergency room, saying something about knowing that he was worried but it was better if he wasn't in the room distracting the healers.

"Harry!" he heard a voice said to his left as he looked at the door and his heart filled with relief because the voice was one that he needed to hear most right in that moment. Ginny ran into his arms and he hugged her back fiercely. He was glad that Fred and George where right behind her, looking pale but otherwise unhurt.

"What happened?" Harry asked them, his eyes looking at the door again where Kingsley was being treated.

"I'm not sure, it all happened so fast," Fred said. "You know that Kingsley cast a charm that made all the illusioned Death Eaters visible … though they looked like shadows, right."

"Yeah, I fought one at the front of Hermione's house," Harry nodded his head and then seeing the expressions on the three Weasleys' faces he added, "everyone else is okay, though Ron and Mr. Weasley were both hurt."

"Thank Merlin," Ginny sighed in relief, though she was still obviously worried about how hurt her brother might be.

"What happened?" Harry asked again, needing to know more details.

"From what we could see there was about five guys there, including the one that you dealt with Harry," George said. "Those were some pretty fancy moves you used on him, I suppose all those lessons with Dumbledore paid off."

"Yeah, that helped," Harry agreed with that. "So did the DA tournaments."

Fred nodded his head, even though he had only been in one of the tournament, the one that was held the previous year, and he only had two duels, the experience had helped him a little today too. "Well anyways we fought the Death Eaters and it didn't take too long for George and I to handle ours. When we turned to see if there were others around or if Gin and Kingsley needed help, we saw Kingsley fall to the floor and someone walking purposely towards him …"

"It was Bellatrix, Harry," Ginny said miserably. "The Death Eaters that we faced at first weren't much at all … I was able to defeat him in a few minutes. When I turned around Kingsley told me that you had used the portkey he had given you and the next thing I knew a curse was coming at me. I don't know how he did it but he must have put a shield around me because the curse deflected away from me. Kingsley didn't have time to defend himself … Bellatrix's curse hit him in the chest and he crumbled to the ground …"

Ginny started choking up, unable to continue talking as her guilt that he was hurt because he had chosen to shield her and not himself filled her.

"What happened next?" Harry asked, looking at the twins as he held Ginny close to him. He wouldn't have asked, but he knew that Bellatrix wouldn't have just left when she had an advantage like that.

"Well as soon as we saw Kingsley fall, we started running towards them," George said.

"As soon as we were close enough we started firing curses at her," Fred added. "Ginny seemed to follow our lead because she tried to curse Bellatrix too."

"I just wish I hit her," Ginny said in a thick voice.

"She didn't seemed put out at all that she was fighting three of us at the same time," George said and then admitted with a grimace, "I don't think we would have won the fight …"

"No … we wouldn't have," Fred agreed with an identical grimace as his twin. "That's why we apparated here as quickly as we could. As soon as I got to Gin and George grabbed onto Kingsley, we got the hell away from there."

"I'm glad you did," Harry said.

"What happened inside the house?" Fred asked then.

"I don't really know," Harry sighed, "by the time I got inside, everything was over."

"How bad is Ron?" Ginny asked this time.

"Not so bad … the Healer said it could have been worst if he was hit in a vital spot, but he was only hit in the shoulder," Harry answered the question as positively as he could. "Bellatrix cursed him too."

The three Weasleys faces harden upon hearing that and Harry had the feeling that they might be rethinking their retreat from the witch.

"Can you take us to Ron now?" Fred asked and Harry nodded his head, leading them to the room that the healer had said Ron would be in. Before they could get to the room however, Hermione walked out of her dad's room seemingly in a daze.

"Hermione!" Ginny said, moving out of Harry's arms and going to hug her bushy haired friend. Hermione looked up when her name was called and was as relieved as Harry had been minutes ago when he realized that the younger Weasleys were all okay. Fred and George followed their sister's lead and hugged Hermione too.

"Glad to see you're alright," Fred smiled.

"Thanks to all of you," Hermione said, smiling but looking sad at the same time. "How did you know I was in trouble?"

"Ron just fancied a visit with you," Ginny said with a pointed look and Hermione understood that meant that they should talk about this later. They all walked into Ron's room after that, Hermione taking the seat closest to Ron and holding his hand.

"What happened?" George asked after a long pause, no one really knowing what to say. Hermione took a shuttering breath and told them as much as she could about what had taken place inside her parent's house that night.

" … and then suddenly Ron was jumping in front of me …" Hermione said and she held onto Ron's hand tighter, as if she was drawing strength from him but he wasn't moving and it didn't help much.

"Of course he did," Fred said, resting a hand on her shoulder and smiling at her. He could tell that she felt guilty about it and she didn't want to look at him or his siblings in the face. "That's Ron."

"Yeah, don't go blaming yourself for Ron brainless actions," George added, trying to force a smile on his face, but the days events seemed to be hard for him to handle. Hermione smiled at him in return, and it was just as strained as George's own smile, but it was sincere. Harry and the Weasleys didn't stay in the room long after that. For Harry's part, he felt like Hermione wanted to be alone with Ron and he was sure that the Weasleys could sense that as well. However, they also seemed to want to go check to see if Kingsley was alright. Harry on the other hand, wanted to stay close by. He had a need to stay close to his two best friends and make sure that nothing else happened to them today, so he sat in a chair right outside of Mr. Grangers room and stared at the door to Rons' room.

O

It was so peaceful to just lie there, that it had taken a great effort for him to open his eyes. He probably wouldn't have bothered, but his mind recalled the last thing that he saw and he couldn't just lie still anymore. He had to open his eyes and find out what happened. Still, it took him several minutes before he could manage to do so and while he was trying, he couldn't help but wonder if he would wake up and find his worst nightmare to be true. The Killing Curse was the last thing he remembered hearing. At the thought of the curse hitting Hermione, her lifeless eyes staring off into space gave him the strength to wake up.

He took in the white room immediately and was sure that he was in a hospital. As he looked from one side and the other he felt panic fill him when he couldn't see anyone in the room. Then he looked down and his body relaxed when he saw the wavy brown hair that he feared he never would see again. He realized that he didn't see her at first because his head had been angled upwards and her body was leaning towards him, her head resting on his bed.

He was tempted to just sit there watching her, but there was something about the tension in her body that made him think that she needed to know that he was awake. "Hermione."

Her head snapped up and there were tears streaks down her cheek, though she didn't look like she was crying right now. "Ron," she said simply and there was obvious relief in her voice though he could see tears starting to sparkle in her eyes.

"I'm okay," Ron said, trying to smile but the truth was that his shoulder was killing him and he knew the tension in his face was showing.

"The doctor said that you won't be able to move your arm much for a few days and you wouldn't have full range of motions for about a month," Hermione said, her voice even and her expression sad. Ron took that to mean that his attempts to assure her that he was okay wouldn't be received well.

"Are we at a muggle hospital," Ron asked as Hermione looked at him confused. "You said doctor."

"Oh," Hermione said a ghost of a smile brushing her lips before she grimaced, "I meant Healer. We're at St Mungo's … Harry used a portkey that Kingsley gave him … or at least that's what he said it was."

"So Harry's here too," Ron said looking relieved about that and then quickly asked, "what about your parents … and my family!" he suddenly realized that Fred, George and/or Ginny could have been hurt in the attempts to save the Grangers from the Death Eater attack.

"They're all okay," Hermione said. "My dad was cursed and Greyback … er … there are some scratches … but nothing too serious. Mum was scratched a few times too but she's … she wasn't hurt."

"That's good," Ron sighed in relief when Hermione paused looking like she was having a hard time talking about this.

"If you hadn't of come …" Hermione said in quivering voice and she squeezed Ron's hand that she had been holding for the last few hours while he slept, "I don't know what would have happened to them."

Ron didn't say anything to that because he was sure that she knew just as well as he did that her parents would have been killed. Probably in a very brutal way seeing as they had fought so hard against a vicious werewolf.

"Then I'm glad I came," Ron said simply to that trying to move his injured arm so he could sooth her (quite forgetting that it was hurt) and winching in pain.

"Ron, don't move!" Hermione said, standing up and steady him to make sure he got that she was serious. "You don't need to hurt yourself any more because of me."

"Hermione?" Ron said questioningly, because she sounded angry all of a sudden.

"Why did you jump in front of that curse for me?" Hermione said her eyes narrowed as she looked into his and she was still standing over him, holding his shoulder so that he couldn't move. Ron was surprised that the pressure on his arm didn't make it hurt at all, though he was much more aware of the arm the he usually was.

"Because …" Ron started to say but the truth was he had moved before he could think of a reason, it was just his natural instinct to protect her. Still he gave her the answer he knew to be true, "because I couldn't stand to see you … I thought she was trying to kill you."

"Idiot," Hermione said as her angry expression turned into a pained one and she leaned her head against his good shoulder. He then wrapped his good arm around her holding her closely to him … or as closely as he could when she was still standing on the floor and leaning in to hug him. Soon things got more comfortable for the both of them as she crawled onto the bed, her head still resting on his shoulder.

"Don't ever do that again," she said unexpectedly, for several minutes had passed since the last time she said anything.

"Huh?" Ron asked, though he was sure he knew what she was talking about.

"Don't take a curse for me, Ron," Hermione said in a whisper, her head still resting on his shoulder, and she didn't seem to want to look him in the eyes and he didn't want to make her. "Seeing you …" she tried to explain why he had to listen to her but all she could do was picture the pain in his eyes when the curse hit him and his still, unmoving body on the floor. "Just promise me you won't do that again."

"I can't," Ron answered, closing his eyes as he listened to the obvious pain in her voice.

She lifted her head to look at him this time, she was trying to glare but it seemed more heartbroken than angry. "Ron …"

"I can't promise that Hermione," he said before she could finish, his own expression was pained, and not because his physical injury's. "I didn't think at all … I don't think in situations like that …"

"I know," Hermione said with a heavy sigh and bowed her head back to his shoulder, as tears filled her eyes again. She knew that he couldn't stop himself from reacting the way he had in her house just a few hours before, but she prayed that a situation like this never happen again. "You know I would do the same for you."

Ron tensed at that. His whole being wanted to protest to what she was saying, try to convince her that she couldn't do that for him, but he knew better than to actually say that. She wouldn't have a choice anymore than he did. "I know."

There was another long silence as they took in what they had just said to each other. It wasn't exactly a comforting thought, especially when they were in the middle of a war, but it helped solidify how deeply their feelings go for one another.

"I thought you might have been killed when I woke up," Ron said, several minutes later. "I thought despite trying to save you … she would have killed you. You don't know how nice it was to see you setting next to me."

"I'm glad I could help," Hermione said, and Ron was relieved that her voice sounded almost normal. "But why did you think I was going to get killed?" her confusion was clear as she asked this.

"I heard her saying the Killing Curse," Ron said sorrowfully. "I heard that … and then I blacked out."

Hermione stiffed at this and her voice came out bitter as she looked up at Ron with cold and even eyes. "She wasn't the one that said the curse."

Ron just looked at her for a few seconds, knowing it had been Hermione that used the curse, and he was seeing the anger and hate she had for Bellatrix in her eyes. "Is she dead?" he asked in a detached voice.

Hermione closed her eyes as a wave of emotions crossed her face, "No … she moved out of the way."

"Do you wish she had dead?" Ron asked next, because he didn't know what else to say.

"Yes!" Hermione answered without hesitation. "She had caused so much harm … she was going to kill my parents …. I thought she killed you …. and I know she's going to hurt more people in the future. I wanted her dead."

Ron moved his good hand up to wipe the tear off of Hermione's cheek. As she had said this, her expression was hard and filled with nothing but anger, but as soon as she stopped speaking, she looked devastated. "What is it?" he asked, because he could tell she needed to say more even if she didn't want too at the moment.

"It … it was awful," Hermione said tears flowing freely down her cheek, "feeling the hate build up in me … saying that curse … I feel dirty. I never thought I would use that curse. It just feels wrong."

"That's probably a good thing," Ron said, though he wasn't sure it helped her. "And you didn't kill anyone …"

"I wish I had," Hermione said and again her eyes were as cold as steal. Then they widened and filled with tears and it was clear to Ron that despite her words Hermione was very conflicted about her feelings on this matter. Clearly the world be a better place without Bellatrix Lestrange in it, but the thought of actually killing someone, even an evil witch like that, wouldn't have waded well on Hermione's conscious.

"I'm glad you're okay," Ron said and Hermione rested her head on his shoulder again, knowing that they were done talking about this, for which she was glad.


	34. The Other Attack

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Four

The Other Attack

"What's the point of looking at the door Harry, if you're not paying attention," someone said and Harry jumped and was shocked to realize that it was Hermione.

"When did you leave the room?" Harry asked, they were still at St. Mungo's and he had been looking at Ron's door intently for a long time now.

"Just now … after Mrs. Weasley came," Hermione said, and Harry flushed.

"How did I miss that?" he grumbled.

"You were probably thinking too hard to notice," Hermione said, taking the seat next to him. "Ron's awake by the way and he seems to be okay."

"That's good to hear," Harry sighed in relief.

"What were you thinking about Harry?" Hermione asked.

"Just about what happened," Harry said, not looking her in the eyes.

"You were blaming yourself for this attack weren't you," Hermione said matter of factly and Harry gaped at her for several seconds before he nodded his head.

"It is my fault Hermione," Harry said, "if it wasn't for me, Voldemort never would have sent his Death Eaters after you."

"That's not precisely true," Hermione said. "There always could have been the off chance that Voldemort picked my family to attack out of all the muggle and muggle borns."

Harry raised an eyebrow at her and she smiled sadly back at him.

"Yes, I know that it's unlikely, but it still might have happened," Hermione said. "And if that did happen I wouldn't of had the protective spells that the Order put on my house …"

"That didn't seem to stop the Death Eaters from attacking you," Harry grimaced.

"No … it didn't," Hermione sighed. "I did hope that they would have been more effective than they were but at least they gave me enough time to set up my own defensive charms, though they were mostly just concealment … it helped. Thankfully you and everyone else came in time or things would have ended differently."

"You would have been killed," Harry said in a hallow voice, "and I could never have lived with that."

"I wouldn't have been killed," Hermione said and that made Harry stare at her incredulously. "Not at my home at least. She wasn't there to kill me."

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked. "How would you know this?"

"Because if she was there to kill me, she would have," Hermione said in her matter of fact voice. "She never used the Killing Curse against me and she could have. I thought maybe she was just playing with me … but I don't know … it just didn't feel like she was. I think she wanted to bring me back to Voldemort …"

"No," Harry said, looking at her horrified. As much as it pained him to think this, he knew that death would be preferable to being captured by Voldemort and his most demented Death Eater. Hermione caught his eye and he knew that she was thinking the same thing. "This is all my fault."

"No Harry, it's not," Hermione said immediately.

"It doesn't matter what you say Hermione … how you try to reason with me … I know that if you weren't friends with me, you wouldn't have been targeted …nor would your family," Harry said bitterly.

"Hmph," Hermione huffed looking upset at him for a second before he sighed and looked miserable, "that doesn't mean I'm ever going to blame you."

"You're not going to try to argue with me about this?" Harry asked, looking shock.

"You just said that no matter what I said it wouldn't matter," Hermione said, looking confused.

"That hasn't stopped you in the past," Harry shrugged.

"That's because in the past I didn't know how you were feeling," Hermione said sadly and her eyes went to the door that her parents were behind.

Harry's eyes followed her and he understood what she meant by that. "Hermione, it's not your fault …"

"The only reason why they would be involved in any of this is because I'm their daughter," Hermione said. "They were attacked because of me."

"Hermione you can't think like that," Harry said.

"How could you of all people say that to me, when you've just confessed that you were thinking the same thing," Hermione glared at him. "You can't have it both ways. Either we're both guilty or neither of us are."

"And if I say that neither of us are, would that make you feel better," Harry said half pleading but knowing better than anyone that it wouldn't change anything.

"No … I suppose it wouldn't," Hermione said, slumping down in her chair and resting her head against Harry's shoulder, her eyes focused on the opposite wall as if she was afraid to look at Harry. "How am I supposed to walk in the room and talk to them after what happened … after they were attacked because of me."

Harry's head moved to Hermione, his eyes furrowing with concern. "By putting one foot in front of another," he said in a very dry voice.

"Ha ha … very funny," Hermione said sarcastically, though she found that she had been amused. "I'm serious Harry."

"Were you hiding from your parents when you were in there with Ron?" Harry asked instead of answering her.

"No … yes … sort of," Hermione said biting her lip. "I needed to see him open his eyes … make sure that he wasn't … that he would be okay."

"I understand," Harry said.

"But I'm also scared Harry. I didn't protect them well enough … they never should have …"

"Hermione!" a new voice said and they both jumped as they turned to face Juliet Granger, her eyes that were the same shade of brown as Hermione's filled with tears. She didn't take her eyes off her daughter as she walked purposely towards her and without saying a word, she pulled Hermione into a tight embrace. Hermione closed her eyes as she hugged her mum back as with everything she had.

"It's not your job to protect us," Juliet said softly as she pulled away from Hermione, wiping a tear off of her daughter's cheek. Hermione made to protest but her mum shook her head and held out her hand. "Come on, your father wants to see you."

Wordlessly Hermione got up giving Harry a sad smile as she went into the room that her dad was assigned. Though Harry was happy that Hermione was clearly going to resolve her concerns about what had happen that night, he felt a little sad that he wouldn't get such an embrace. He didn't have anyone to hug him like a child …

"HARRY!" came the shout of a deranged man and seconds later Sirius pushed his way into view. The next thing he knew, he was being hugged by his godfather and his ears were ringing as Sirius started shouting again. "MERLIN'S BREAD! Do you have any idea how worried I've been!"

"Sirius … you're crushing me," Harry said through gritted teeth, because he really was being crushed, though in truth he didn't mind it at all.

"You deserved to be crushed after giving me heart failure like you did," Sirius grumbled, though he did loosen his grip and seemed to be looking over Harry as if checking to see if he was hurt or not.

"What are you talking about?" Harry asked.

"We came home for Azkaban and you were gone!" Sirius said. "No note …. no message … you just weren't there! And neither was anyone else. I thought maybe because it got so late that you went to the Weasley's to spend the night … though I was sure that Molly would have left a message for me or something. But I didn't know what else to do."

"I'm sorry Sirius, but …" Harry said, really meaning his apology and wishing he would have left Sirius some kind of sign of where he was going and why he had to leave. However, Sirius didn't seem to want to hear what he had to say at the moment because he continued ranting about Harry's absence.

"SORRY! Sorry doesn't cut it mister!" Sirius said, not caring at all that he sounded just like his mum … actually it was more like James's mum … when he did something dangerous when he was younger. "Do you have any idea how it felt going to the Burrow and finding it empty and having no other clue of where you might have been? And then I see that clock! And all of the hands are pointed at the hospital! I came here right away but I didn't know if you were hurt … or even here!"

Sirius seemed to have used up all his anger. Anxiety over everything that happened seemed to take over and all he wanted to do was hold onto Harry as tightly as he could, somehow hoping that it would keep the boy safe. Still he had enough energy to ask one more question. "What in Merlin's name made you decide to leave Grimmauld Place in the first place?"

"Hermione was attacked," Harry said simply and he felt Sirius tense at his words.

"Is she alright?" Sirius said, his voice filled with panic again.

"Yeah, she's okay," Harry said to ease his godfather's worry. "She's in the room behind us with her parents … they were there too, and they weren't seriously hurt either."

"Thank Merlin," Sirius sighed, and then looked at Harry sheepishly. "You should have said something sooner … I probably wouldn't have yelled at you like this."

"You had a right to yell," Harry shrugged, not waiting to say that he actually appreciated being yelled at because it showed the dept of Sirius's feelings for him. "I should have left a note or something."

"Are you kidding me! I never would have left a note if one of my best friends where under attack," Sirius said.

"Sirius did you … Harry!" Remus said coming into the hallway out of breath, the same crazed look in his eyes that Sirius had a moment ago. Remus didn't waste any time in getting to Harry and pulled the boy into a hug before either of them knew what was happening. "You better have a good excuse for being here."

"He has the best," Sirius said and explained to Remus the brief knowledge he had on the situation. Like Sirius before him, Remus seemed to understand why Harry had to leave like he did, but worry mixed with relief was still clear on his face. After Sirius had finished talking, Harry explained everything he knew that had happened at the Grangers, combining his own experience with the others that were there. Somewhere in the middle of this explanation, Arthur came over, giving his own hug to Harry. Harry decided to start his explanation over again and this time didn't stop until he said everything he knew.

"You're just lucky that no one got fatally injured," Remus said in a grim voice.

"Does anyone know how Kingsley is?" Sirius asked.

"I asked the Healer about him," Arthur said. "It appears that both Ron and Kingsley were hit by the same curse, but since Ron was hit in the arm and Kingsley in the chest, the latter was more severely hurt. There was a lot of damage to his heart and lungs, but he will heal eventually, though he will be in pain for a few months to come."

Everyone sat in silence as they took in the news, then Arthur chuckled and the others looked at him oddly.

"Sorry … it's not funny really, but I was just thinking that this was probably better than whatever Molly would have done to him if he hadn't been injured after she found out that he had taken our kids into a battle like he had," Arthur explained seeming to sober himself up as he talked. They all nodded grimly.

"What happened at Azkaban?" Harry asked Sirius and Remus because everyone was sitting in uncomfortable silence after what Arthur had said.

"I never thought that I would have to go back to that forsaken hell hole again," Sirius said his eyes and voice was emotionless.

"Dumbledore never should have made you go there," Harry huffed out indignantly as he realized how terrible it must have been on Sirius to go back to the prison he had unjustly been set to for twelve years.

"I know the in's and out's of that place better than anyone," Sirius said in the same emotionless voice.

"With his help we were able to stop five Death Eaters from escaping," Remus said, his eyes on his friend and he was looking just as concerned as Harry felt.

"Did others …" Arthur started to ask but Remus seemed to know what he was going to say and answered before he could finish.

"Yes … six Death Eaters escaped, including Lucius Malfoy."

"That can't be good," Harry was the one to say, not really thinking in terms of more Death Eaters being on the loose, but in terms of how this was going to effect the relationship that had been building with Draco and Narcissa Malfoy before.

"That bastard better not drag them down," Sirius hissed, his emotions coming back with vengeance and his thoughts seeming to mirror Harry's.

"We won't let him," Remus said, his tone even and Harry was sure that he had already said this before and probably would have to say it again to calm Sirius down.

"Who were the other Death Eaters that escaped?" Arthur asked and Remus listed them off to him.

"What happened at the Ministry, Mr. Weasley?" Harry asked.

"Ministry?" Remus said, clearing not having heard of the other attack the Death Eaters pulled off that night.

"After you left, we, D …" Arthur started to say but stopped himself in time. They were in a public place and he couldn't let anyone know too many details on how they knew that there were going to be attacks on all of these places. He realized that so far, what they had said wasn't too bad, but he couldn't let anyone know about the message that they got. "Er … decided to cheek out the Ministry and see if they would need help after losing so many people to help stop the breakout in Azkaban."

Sirius and Remus could tell that that wasn't the truth and figured out on the own how the other Order members would learn of another attack.

"It was lucky we went too, because by the time we got there, the fighting had already started," Arthur said. "We're not sure what the Death Eaters were after … I mean after last summer we didn't think they would want to attack the Ministry anymore but You-Know-You himself was there so it had to be something big. Luckily Dumbledore was with us and the two of them dueled … it was enough to give you goosebumps watching the two of them duel, I'll tell you."

"You just watched them duel?" Sirius questioned trying not to look too critical about hearing that, especially when he knew he probably would have been staring too.

"For a few minutes," Arthur said, his ears turning red with his embarrassment. "Everyone was … on both sides. Only a few moments though … everyone started moving again and I was too busy fighting my own duel to worry about anyone else."

"So what happened?" Remus asked. "Did the Death Eaters take anything? What were they after?"

"We still don't know," Arthur frowned. "They didn't seem to be after anything, though they did destroyed everything in their path. They might have just been trying to spread us thin … attacking so many places at once so that we couldn't give any backup anywhere else …"

"That sounds more like what they were doing at the Grangers," Remus said in a heavy voice. "The minute that the Death Eaters did something to the protection spells we put up there, someone in the Order, probably Dumbledore, would know about it, but we couldn't have done anything to help them today …"

"That's true," Arthur said. "The only question now is was the attack on the Ministry a distraction or were they trying to do something there too. I mean it was Christmas so there weren't too many people there, though more than we expected. I suppose it doesn't really matter what they wanted, what happened is horrible … it's going to cause a huge backlash."

"What happened?" Sirius repeated and he, Remus and Harry looked at Arthur confused.

"You didn't hear?" Arthur said shocked himself as the others still looked at him blankly. "Scrimgeour was having a meeting with the Head of Magical Law Enforcement, Head of the Auror Department and a few of their top people. They joined our fight after a little while."

"What happened Arthur?" Remus asked, he could tell that the other man was stalling.

"Scrimgeour was killed," Arthur sighed.

"What?" the three of them said and Harry couldn't help but be reminded that Scrimgeour had planned to ambush him today and now the man was dead.

"He was in a duel with one of the Death Eaters … I don't even know who …" Arthur said gravely.

"But you don't think they were after him," Remus said, trying to recover. He was never particularly fond of Scrimgeour, but there was no doubt this was going to be a hard blow to them. The people were going to be even more scared about everything after this.

"They didn't seemed to be targeting him anyone than any of us," Arthur said. "Still to think that he was killed … in the Ministry … it's hard to believe that it was a coincidence."

"Was anyone else killed?" Remus asked the grim questioned, not seeming to want to know the answer.

"No one from the order, but there was one Death Eater that was killed, I didn't see who." Arthur answered. "And I heard that two people that work at the Ministry were killed too when the attack first started. It could have been a lot worst, but … still this was bad enough."

"We'll get through this," Sirius said, trying to sound optimistic. "We'll figure out whatever it was that Voldemort is planning and we'll stop him."

"As if it could be that simple," Harry sighed. He would like nothing more than to end this all now.

"We'll make it that simple," Sirius said, still going for the positive, as if he could will this to be true. He sighed when he saw that it didn't seem to raise Harry's spirits at all and wrapped his arms around his godson. "We should get out of here … you looked as exhausted as I feel."

"I can't leave," Harry said, though Sirius was right about him, his eyes trailed to the door that the Grangers were behind then to the one on the opposite side of the hallway.

"Oh, we'll be talking the Grangers home with us," Sirius said, correctly interrupting what Harry was worried about.

"What?"

"They're going to need some place safe to stay at, aren't they?" Sirius shrugged. "What safer place is there than my home."

"You have a point," Harry said relieved by Sirius suggestion.

"And don't worry about Ron, Molly and I are not going to be leaving the hospital until he does," Arthur added.

Harry nodded his head and then sat back in his chair. Despite the fact that Sirius had said that they should get home, they first had to tell the Grangers about Sirius's invitation to stay with him and then get them released from the hospital. Still, Harry was relieved when a little more than an hour later he was headed home.


	35. Returning to Hogwarts

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Five

Returning to Hogwarts

The last few days at Grimmauld Place before they went back to Hogwarts had been very busy to say the least. After getting over most of their shock from nearly getting killed and then forced to live in a, for lack of better words, a safe house, the Grangers had more than a few questions to ask. Though Hermione had told them some things about the war and what was going on in the wizarding world, she hadn't explained that she was pretty deeply involved in said war. However, there was no getting out of answering their questions now, not after everything that happened and she tried to tell them everything she could, starting with her first year at Hogwarts and moving up to the present day. Unfortunately for Harry, or so he thought, Sirius and Remus heard this explanation as well and they looked worried and concerned about the two adventures that they didn't know about.

"So, what you're telling me, is that you have risked your life on a nearly annual bases and this is the first time I'm hearing about it," Duncan Granger said grim and very pale face as he looked at his daughter.

Hermione nodded her head, knowing her excuses would not be taken well.

"I suppose you thought that I would have stopped you from going back to Hogwarts if you had told me you were attacked by a troll in your first year," Duncan continued on this line, receiving another nod from his daughter. He didn't say anything for a long time as he shared a look with his wife, he knew she was thinking the same thing he was. Hermione probably was right, they would've reacted that way if they'd heard of all the ways that she'd been in danger at this school. Not only was she in danger … half the time it seemed she went looking for it. "You were probably right," he finally admitted with a sigh. "But I still think I deserved to know this."

"I'm sorry, Dad," Hermione sighed herself.

"Yes, I can see that," Duncan agreed, and when she looked up at him he gave her a weak smile. "It amazes me how much you've grown in the last six years … I can hardly recognize the little girl that repeatedly told me about the magic she was about to learn and all about the boy Harry Potter …"

"Dad!" Hermione groaned started to blush and looking over to where Harry was talking with Sirius and Remus. Naturally, as soon as her dad had mention him, Harry had looked over at them. "It wasn't …"

"I believe you listed at least four books that he was in," Duncan continued to say, obvious amusement twinkling in his eyes.

"Really, she only told me about three of them when we first meet," Harry said, grinning at Hermione when she turned to look at him. "You know I never did read those books."

"Of course you didn't, you never read anything I suggest you should," Hermione grumbled.

"Why would I, I could just ask you if there's anything I need to know about them," Harry shrugged.

"You've spent too much time with Ron," Hermione rolled his eyes at him.

Duncan watched as the two teenagers continued to lightly tease one another and realized that despite all the danger that his family was in, he wouldn't have changed anything if he could. True, he would have liked to of known about what his daughter had gone through, he felt as if he had missed a very important stage of her development. At the same time, he knew he would've been even more terrified every time she left for school if he'd known about the danger of the mystical world she belonged to.

"Hermione," he said just as Hermione was about to make a retort to her friend but she closed her mouth and looked at him. "No more keeping things from us okay. Even if you think that we can't handle it."

"I promise," Hermione said frowning. "There's no point to anymore, you know everything."

O

Harry woke up breathing heavily. It was just a few hours before he was supposed to go back to Hogwarts but he knew that he wasn't going back to sleep. His dreams were now filled with surprise attacks on those that he was closest too. If he was worried before about what was coming before the triple attack on Christmas, it was nothing compared to how it was now. He had chosen to try to change the future … make it better, but it seemed hard to believe that he could manage that now. If Hermione had been…

He got out of the bed and rushed down the stairs, not sure where he was going but he didn't want to finish his last thought. He found himself in the kitchen, and with nothing else to do, he made himself some eggs and coffee. It took him nearly half an hour to cook and eat his meal, but after he had finished he had nothing to distract his mind from thinking. Wondering what to do next, he walked into the living room where there was a light on, someone had already beat him to there.

"Merlin Harry, what are you doing up?" Hermione said jerking her head towards him and he saw that she reached for her wand until she realized that it was just him.

"Couldn't sleep," Harry admitted. "What are you doing up?"

"The same," Hermione sighed, "I thought I would do a bit of reading."

"Just a bit?" Harry questioned, noticing in addition to the book that she was reading, there were a few others on the table next to her.

Hermione shrugged.

"Are you okay?" Harry frowned, taking a good look at his friend and noticing the bags under her eyes. He would bet that she had gotten just as much sleep as he had the last few days.

"No, I don't think I am," Hermione answered truthfully as Harry sat next to her. "What have you been dreaming about?"

Harry raised an eyebrow at her, as if to say that he didn't appreciate her changing the subject after she admitted that she wasn't okay. She raised her eyebrow back, indicating she wasn't going to say more on the subject and he sighed deeply.

"I've been dreaming about what happened … only there different attacks," Harry said. "More people I care about are being singled out because of me. What have you been dreaming about?"

Hermione was silent for a long time not sure if she should answer him or not when she finally said one word. "Bellatrix."

Harry's head snapped to look at her, his expression anxious.

"It's not like she did anything to me," Hermione said, reading the concern in his expression. "Besides giving me a concussion, but that wasn't anything serious. No the dreams are about what she could have done … what I had though she did to Ron …" she stopped there, biting her lip. She was so close to telling Harry what she had done … that she had used the Killing Curse on Bellatrix and the only reason the other witch was still alive was because she moved out of the way. She was going to tell him that she wasn't sure if the dreams of her friends that might get hurt because Bellatrix was still alive was worse than knowing that she had ended another person life. That she had used a curse that still made her feel dirty. But she couldn't find the words to say it and Harry didn't try to push her at all, like she was sure she would have if she was in Harry's shoes. She rested her head against his shoulder and felt herself relax for the first time since her last visit with Ron a few days ago. She might not be able to share this with Harry, but his present made her feel better.

"Do you think we did the right thing? Trying to change the future of the book?" Harry asked a while later.

"Ask me when this is all over," Hermione said with a sigh. "At this point in time, there are probably lives that have been saved because of our choice …"

"Yeah, well people have still died," Harry said, thinking of the Minister and the two other people that worked in the Ministry that had died. "People that might not have if we didn't make the decision to change things."

"Maybe," Hermione frowned. "Maybe we did make the wrong choice … maybe we weren't suppose to play God. But we can't take it back now. Now all we could do is try to make the world the best place it can be. If we end this soon Harry, I think we'd end up saving more lives than we would have lost."

"Yeah," Harry mumbled as if he was just appeasing her. They didn't say anything else for a long time, both understanding that they weren't going to talk more. Harry remembered smiling briefly when he noticed that Hermione picked up her book again before he drifted off to sleep.

"Harry, Harry, Harry! I'm ashamed to call you my godson," Sirius said, startling Harry awake.

"Huh?" Harry questioned, still groggy.

"Sleeping with your best mate's girlfriend," Sirius said grinning as he shook his head. "I thought you were more noble than that."

"What are you …?" Harry trailed off as he looked down and notice Hermione was next to him, glaring at Sirius, though her face was flush with embarrassment. "Ah Sirius, you know it's not like that."

"Sure it was, I come in here and you're both sleeping …" Sirius said grinning evilly at them.

"Excuse me," Hermione said, getting up and leaving the room.

"I would appreciate it if you wouldn't make my friends uncomfortable being in the same room as me," Harry glared at his godfather.

"Sorry," Sirius said not looking very sorry. "But it was too good to pass up. What were you two doing staying up so late anyway?"

"We didn't stay up," Harry said. "I woke up early."

Sirius gave him a critical look, "I suppose what happened didn't help your fears about the future any."

"No … no it didn't," Harry sighed. "I better get ready."

"Harry … just remember what I said about enjoying the times you have with your friends," Sirius said as he watched Harry go with a nod of his head. Sirius was worried about is godson. He had promised that they were going to end this war soon, and now he was going to have to try to think of a way to make it happen. He didn't want Harry to carry the weight of everyone on his shoulder like the boy tended to do.

The rest of the morning however, was dedicated to getting Harry and Hermione to Hogwarts. Harry noted it was a lot less chaotic than it was when the Weasleys were there. They had made it to King's Cross station with no problems.

"Do you think there would be so many people on this train if they knew what happened over Christmas," Harry mused out loud to Hermione as they waited for Ron and Ginny to join them.

"You mean if the Ministry didn't cover up the fact that Azkaban had another break out and the Minister was killed," Hermione said emotionlessly, knowing that an attack on her house wouldn't have meant anything to the masses of the wizarding world. Harry nodded his head, looking bitter. She knew that Harry didn't like the cover up any more than she did, but they both understood why the Ministry had chosen to do it. "Probably not … everyone would be panicking now more than they already are."

"It's not right," Harry hissed.

"What's not right," Ron asked at the compartment door and Hermione got up to hug him immediately. Harry followed her, though he hugged Ginny instead.

"How have you been?" Hermione questioned.

"You just saw me three days ago," Ron rolled his eyes.

"Which means he was moping around the house for three days, complaining that he couldn't do anything because his arm hurt," Ginny explained.

"My arm does hurt," Ron pouted before turning back to Harry. "So what's wrong now?"

"Just something I really have to get off my chest," Harry sighed thinking about what Sirius had said this morning. Taking a deep breath and trying to keep the smile off his face as Hermione raised her eyebrow wondering even more than the Weasleys what he was talking about. They had been talking about the Ministry after all. "I slept with Mione last night."

"Harry!" Hermione gasped as Ron's jaw dropped in shock and Ginny looked between Harry and Hermione in horror. Harry's, however though still not laughing, eyes sparkled with amusement as they met Hermione's that the next words out of her mouth shocked her. "That was supposed to be a secrete!"

"You …" Ron asked, in too much shock to feel anything. Well until he heard Harry chuckle and Hermione smiled looking amused and annoyed at once. "What is going on?"

"You know, the normal," Harry shrugged. "I had a nightmare … got up early … found Hermione reading a huge book … talked to her and then fell asleep with your girlfriend."

"Huh," Ron grunted, glaring at Harry. "And then you decide to share this with me by trying to give me heart failure, huh?"

"I thought it would be amusing," Harry shrugged.

"You're lucky I was too shocked to react the right way, Harry," Ginny glared at him. "I was this close to cursing you in ways that you wound not have appreciated."

"Right," Harry gulped at that. "No more jokes about sleeping with other women in the future."

The rest of the train ride went by pleasantly after that.


	36. Draco's Request

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Six

Draco's Request

"I don't understand why we're doing this," Ron grumbled. "Or why we have to use the Invisibility Cloak … my neck is killing me."

"Shush," Hermione hissed. "What's the point of the Cloak if you're going to talk!"

"Someone's coming," Harry said in barely more than a whisper cutting off Ron's response. They continued to walk down the hallway on their way to the Room of Requirement. Harry was keeping his eye on the marauders' map as they walked and even though they had passed the only person on the seventh floor as far as he could see, he didn't let his friends know the cost was clear. Dumbledore had told him it was important that no one was seen on this adventure and he didn't want to disappoint the head master. That was why he made sure that no one was close as he thought of a meeting place for Order, as Dumbledore had instructed him to do, standing outside of the Room of Requirement.

"It looks like we're the first here," Hermione noted as Harry pulled off the Cloak.

"So … why did we have to come here, Harry?" Ron asked.

"Not sure, Dumbledore just said that we should be here at least a half an hour before ten," Harry shrugged. "I think he wanted to tell us something."

"Then why didn't he just call us to his office?" Ron huffed. "And why are we here an hour early then!"

"You know you wouldn't be so grumpy if you weren't so tall," Hermione pointed out to her boyfriend, who was now making a face at her. "And it's better to be prompt than late."

"Whatever," Ron rolled his eyes.

"It looks like Ginny is coming," Harry said as he continued to watch the map. "And McGonagall and Dumbledore seemed to be making their way here. It looks like whatever Dumbledore has to say is going to be important."

"Maybe this means they made may progress on either the cup or the snake," Ron supplied.

"Maybe," Harry said doubtfully. "But it's only been two weeks since we got back here and Sirius hasn't mentioned anything about trying to get into Gringotts, so I doubt it's the cup."

"Hey guys," Ginny said as she come into the room.

"Hey Gin," Harry smiled at her, "looks like you snuck you're way over here easily enough."

"Please, you don't need and Invisibility Cloak to get around unseen," Ginny rolled her eyes.

"I told you we didn't need the Cloak," Ron grumbled.

"Oh, I'm sure you guys do … you're horrible at sneaking around without it," Ginny said and chuckled at the glare she got from her brother and the pout Harry had. "Anyways, I was just think that if we're thinking of this as an Order meeting place, does that mean that we're actually in the Order?"

"Maybe," Harry shrugged. "Though officially I still think not. Dumbledore just wanted to make sure that we're all able to get into the room at the same place. Huh?" he added as he glanced back at his map. "It looks like Snape is coming too. And perhaps Draco with his too body guards."

"He's going to bring Crabbe and Goyle here?" Ron said and then groaned at what he had said. "Forget I said that … there just going to be his normal guards for when he's _working_ on the cabinet."

"That must be why we had to get her3 so early," Hermione reasoned. "It was the only way for all of us to come in here without anyone knowing that we're in the same place."

"Precisely what I was thinking, Miss Granger," someone said at the doorway and everyone jumped when they realized that it was Dumbledore. "Though the situation is more extreme than you may have guess."

"Sir?" Harry asked, raising his eyebrow.

"I will explain more when everyone get here," Dumbledore said pleasantly. "However, you might want to know that Mr. Malfoy is the one that wanted to have this particular meeting."

Harry grimaced at this, wondering what Draco might want to say that was important enough to get everyone together. He had to wait until ten as McGonagall, Snape and Draco came to the room at separate times.

"Ah, it seems that everyone is here," Dumbledore said as Draco sat down on the chair that had just appeared for him. "I know that you have something important to say Mr. Malfoy, but I have a few announcements that need to be said before you start."

Draco nodded his head, his attention however seemed to be on whatever it is he had to say because he looked like he was planning something.

"First of all, since what happened over the holidays, Voldemort has become more active," Dumbledore said, his voice was grave and he looked tired. "As you all know, Thickness has now officially taken over as Minister, just like he had in the other reality. We had kept a close eye on him, and unfortunately we fear that he is under the Imperius Curse as well judging by the few policies that have been made in the last week."

"He's not hunting down Muggle borns is he?" Ron asked in alarm.

"Not like it was done in the book, however, there have been a few laws made that restrict Muggle borns rights," Dumbledore sighed. "Though they are only minor ones, it's still not an encouraging development. Nor is the fact that Thickness has decrease the number of Aurors trying to find Voldemort and his Death Eaters, stating that they need to look into other matter more. His reasoning behind this is that the attack on the Ministry never would have happened if there had been more Aurors watching the patterns of the Death Eaters."

"But that's stupid, how could they have known about the attack if the Death Eaters didn't even know of it until that day," Harry said frowning.

"That is what Kingsley had said when he was given his new orders," Dumbledore sighed. "He is to organized all the information that comes into the Ministry and pass on what he finds to his supervisor, who will then direct the Aurors to what they should do."

"They're making Kingsley a paper pusher," Hermione groaned.

"Yes," Dumbledore sighed. "Though given his injuries, it's not that uncommon that he would have been given less field work, it's still a blow against us. We are sure that he's going to be watch closely and is unlikely able to do anything for the Order for a while now. It also hurts us that Tonks is no longer in the Auror department right now, though she is doing well as our Defense ..."

"Hey that's right, why isn't Tonks here? Shouldn't she be part of this meeting," Harry said.

"She is overseeing an detention at the moment and couldn't make it here," Dumbledore said thought Harry thought there was something about that he wasn't saying. "Still the troubling matter is that most of the people we have inside of the Minister are known to be in the Order or that they are close to me ..."

"It sounds like you're saying that the Ministry is our enemy now," Harry grimaced.

"Not quite," Dumbledore said. "Things aren't as bad as they were in the book. For one thing I'm still here … so Voldemort is afraid of making it too obviously that he's in control of the Ministry."

"And people probably aren't as afraid as they had been," Harry added. "Knowing that you're here."

"Perhaps," Dumbledore allowed with a smile and then sighed. "But it is true that things are not going well in concerns of the Ministry and we can no longer consider them an ally."

"Have we made any progress in getting the cup or getting to the snake?" Ron wanted to know and he didn't like the silence that came after what Dumbledore had just said.

"As for the Hufflepuff cup, I believe that Sirius, Narcissa, Emmeline and Remus are having a meeting for that tonight," Dumbledore said. "I'm not sure how they are planning on proceeding with that but I have confidence that they figure it out.

"As for the Nagini," Dumbledore sighed. "Voldemort is keeping her close to him and I'm unsure if he suspects that his Horcruxes have been destroyed or he just wants her near him. Either way, it will be hard to get to her for the time being."

"Do you really think he might know about his Horcruxes, Albus?" McGonagall asked looking worried.

Dumbledore looked thoughtful for a few minutes before he said, " I don't believe that he is consciously aware that his Horcruxes are being targeted, however, he might be aware on a subconscious level.

"Now, Mr. Malfoy, I believe that you have something to say," Dumbledore concluded, looking at Draco expectantly.

"Right," Draco said grimacing as everyone's eyes turned to him. He took a deep breath and prepared himself of the hospitality that he was sure to come from the others. "I'm sure you are all aware by now that my father has been freed from Azkaban …"

"Which I'm sure you had been happy to do you Death Eaters duties to free him," Ron grumbled under his breath though it had been loud enough for Draco do hear.

"Actually, it probably would have been better for all of us if he hadn't been freed at that time," Draco frowned. "It's not like I can tell Father that I'm helping the Order fight the Dark Lord … and when the Dark Lord finds out that I'm not on his side, Father is going to be in more danger than anyone."

"Good," Ginny huffed, she had not forgotten that Lucius Malfoy was responsible for giving her Tom Riddle's diary.

"I know that my father has done regrettable things in the past," Draco started to say, his cold eyes on Ginny for what she had just said.

"Regrettable!" Ginny snorted. "You think he regrets anything he did. He doesn't care about all of the trouble he caused in the first war nor what he's done since then. And he will do more now that he's freed form Azkaban."

"Actually, the Dark Lord had made it quite clear that Father does not have any standing in the ranks of the Death Eaters," Draco said, he had no argument for the first two things that Ginny had said.

"Awe, poor L …" Ginny started to say.

"I believe we should let Mr. Malfoy say what he has to say before we interrupt him any more," Dumbledore said, sensing that things would become bad if he allowed the two to argue more. He also could sense that what Draco had to say would make things even more tense, but he could do nothing about that until Draco had finished.

"I want my father to be pardon for all his crimes …" Draco started to say.

"You ca …" Ginny tried to interrupt again but a look from Dumbledore stopped her short, though once Draco was finished she was going to give everyone a piece of her mind.

"For all of the help that I have given your side … for everything that my mother and I are still doing to help you defeat the Dark Lord," Draco continued, "I want my father to stay out of Azkaban."

"Are you done?" Ginny asked.

Draco nodded his head. He wasn't looking at the girl, it didn't matter what she thought, but the three Professors in the room, especially Dumbledore, were the ones that could give him what he wanted.

"So not only do you want your dad to get away with the horrible things he's done in the past, you also want him to have a blank check to do anything in the future and not pay for his crime," Ginny said in a deadly even voice. She turned to the Professors, all of which looked thoughtful. Then she turned to her friends and noticed that only Ron looked like he was on her side. Harry and Hermione both looked thoughtful about what Draco was asking. "You really think that's fair …" she asked Harry.

"No … it's not fair," Harry said and Draco glared at him. "But if I was in Draco's place, I probably would be asking the same thing. Wouldn't you … if it was your dad's freedom was on the line."

"My dad isn't a criminal!" Ginny said hotly. She was not going to agree to this no matter what reason anyone gave. "And it's not fair to let someone get away with murder … which I'm sure Lucius has commented … just because his son helped our side."

"There are other ways to punish someone, than putting them in Azkaban," Draco said. "I'm not suggest that Father should get away with his crimes. I'm asking that you to show him some lenience."

"Like he showed len …" Ginny started.

"Gin, just drop it," Hermione said and Ginny turned to look at her mutinously.

"You agree with him?" Ginny snarled.

"I think that it's up to the Professors to decided at this point," Hermione said not being able to look at her friend. Though she didn't really want Lucius to be show any lenience, she couldn't help but think that if it wasn't for Draco, her parents would likely have been killed.

"The truth of the matter is that Lucius Malfoy had already been found innocent of his crimes during the first war," Dumbledore said frowning. "As it was in the wizengamot that he was declared innocent, he can not be accused of those crimes in the future. As for being caught at the Ministry with other Death Eaters and being convicted of using the Imperius Curse on Sturgis, I can see what I can do about … changing the sentence that he had gotten. However, I will not agree to allowing anyone, not even for your sake Mr. Malfoy, that has commit a crime without having to face sufficient punishment for his actions."

"I understand sir," Draco said scowling, that wasn't the answer he was looking for, though it was better than he had before he had brought up the matter.

"I believe that is all that we have to discuss for the moment," Dumbledore started to say.

"Sir, you still haven't explained why we had to get here so early?" Harry reminded him.

"Indeed I haven't," Dumbledore said frowning. "Thank you for reminding me of that Harry. Severus, I believe you have the best explanation for this."

Snape nodded his head before he focused on Draco. "I'm not sure if you are aware of this or not, but the Dark Lord had made it a priority to all the Death Eaters that their children should report what is going on here at Hogwarts."

"Are you saying that I'm being watched?" Draco asked, he had noticed his dorm mates have been acting oddly the last few weeks.

"In a way," Snape said. "I don't believe that they have been told to watch you, but the Dark Lord has been dying to know more about what Albus is up to, and he is now using all the spies that he has available to him for another conc ..."

"Does that mean that he doesn't think you're doing a good job?" Ron asked and then added when Snape glowered at him. "Er … Sir."

"The Dark Lord understands that I can not hear about everything that happens," Snape said in his cold voice, not being mollified at all by Ron's attempt to appease him. "He is now worried about what Potter is doing, and knows that a Professor is a poor spy for a student."

"So now the Slytherins are spying on me," Harry groaned. "That's why you wanted me to make sure that no one saw us coming here. That no one knew that all of us are in the same place."

"Precisely," Dumbledore smiled. "It would not be good for us if Voldemort learns that Mr. Malfoy has been in a meeting with the rest of us. It would be best if we didn't have meetings like this in the future, though if need be we will find a way to get the message about."

"What about our lessons, Professor?" Harry asked. "Are we going to continue with those … does Voldemort know about them?"

"Sadly, I believe he does know about them," Dumbledore sighed. "Either way, it is important for us to continue with our lessons, Harry. It's more important for you to learn what I can teach you, than it is to keep our meetings secret. Besides, Voldemort has no means to find out what is go on in our meetings, so we can be thankful for that."

"Well there's a small favor," Harry sighed. It wasn't long after that that Harry was walking back to the Gryffindor common room with Ron, Hermione and Ginny. They had asked the Room of Requirement for a different exit and had ended up on the fourth floor. They were all too caught up with their thoughts to to talk as they walked.


	37. Meeting at Grimmauld Place

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Seven

Meeting at Grimmauld Place

"Argh! Are we just going to sit here in silence, or are one of you going to say something!" Sirius erupted, looking from one of his cousins to another. Though this was supposed to be the meeting that they discussed the break in of the Lestrange's vault, Sirius had invited Andromeda. After what happened on Christmas he thought the sisters might have something they would want to discuss, but after ten minutes of uncomfortable silence, he was starting to think this was a bad idea.

"Sirius, perhaps we should get some tea," Remus suggested, shaking his head at his friend's outburst.

"We just got some …" Sirius started to say but Emmeline nudged him and he reluctantly got up. Once he got in the kitchen he grumbled. "What was that about … we had tea for them when they got here?"

"I just thought they might want to talk to each other without anyone else there," Remus shrugged.

"I'm not sure that's going to work, they haven't talked to each other in decades," Sirius pointed out.

"What about on Christmas?" Remus reminded him.

"That's only going to make it harder for them to say something now," Sirius said rolling his eyes as if that should have been obviously. He was about to say more but there was some loud laughing coming from the other room.

"Yeah, it really sounds like they've have trouble talking without you there," Emmeline said sarcastically and Sirius shrugged. Okay so maybe he had been wrong and they did need some time alone, he was just happy that they could both laugh together. Sirius then sat down at the table and looked at his hands thoughtfully. "Is something wrong Sirius?"

"No, not wrong," Sirius said, "just thinking thoughts that might hurt if things go wrong …"

"What?" Emmeline asked.

"I think I understand," Remus sighed, sitting next to his friend. "If things can stay as they are now, you can have a family … not only the one that you've made for yourself but blood relatives as well …"

"It's been a long time since I've thought well of most of my living relatives," Sirius agreed.

"I seemed to remembering you telling Harry not to worry about what's going to happen, because we were going to make sure that everything works out in the end," Remus pointed out to Sirius, who was now grinning at him with a sheepish expression.

"I might have," Sirius muttered. "Apparently it was easier for me to learn his behavior than it was to make him stop worrying."

"And how is all this worrying helping you," Emmeline said, sitting down on the other side of Sirius.

"None at all, I've always been prone to fits of brooding," Sirius said.

"Actually, that was me," Remus said.

"Oh that's right," Sirius chuckled. "What was it that I use to do?"

"Act like an idiot," Remus answered in dead pan.

"Nah, that was James," Sirius said, "I used to stare in a mirror all the time to make sure that my perfect hair was in the style I liked it in."

"Oh right, you did do that," Remus chuckled this time. "That's probably why you never look in a mirror anymore …"

"I know," Sirius pouted this time, putting a hand through his hair and then pretended to cry. "It's so hideous now … I can't stand to look at it."

"You two are such idiots," Emmeline shook her head as the others chuckled.

"It's better to act like an idiot than to be depressed," Sirius said. "I've been depressed for far too long to care about looking like an idiot."

"As if you ever cared," Remus muttered.

"Siri?" Andromeda's voice called and seconds later she was walking in the door. "Oh, you are here. I think it's time that you start … er … whatever it is that you all came here to do. I'm about to leave."

"You don't have to go," Sirius said.

"I'm not part of the Order …" she started to say.

"Then join," Sirius suggested.

"Sirius you know that I would," Andromeda sighed, "I just can't do it now. With the new laws against Muggle borns I've been receiving so much extra work. Not to mention it's becoming harder for me to keep my clients out of Azkaban."

"You probably shouldn't have reminded him of that," Remus said as Sirius growled and Andromeda shook her head smiling.

"Cissa is right, you really haven't changed at all Sirius," Andromeda laughed.

"Nope," Sirius smiled. "And I don't plan to."

"Good," Andromeda smiled too. "If anything serious happens though … remember Ted and I will be there to help you."

"Then I'll let you know when that happens," Sirius nodded his head and walked her to the door as the others headed to the living room where Narcissa still was. It was only a few minutes after that that he joined them.

"So what are you guys waiting for, let's get this meeting started," Sirius said.

"We were waiting for you," Narcissa informed him, her voice sounded like it always does but Sirius could tell that she was in good mood after the brief talk she had with her sister. He could recognize the cousin he had known as a boy, so many years ago.

"Right, sorry," Sirius shrugged. "So what have you been up to in concerns of getting into your sister's vault?"

"Actually things have gotten harder for us in that concern in the last two weeks," Narcissa sighed looking down.

"Why?" Sirius asked but by her demeanor he had a feeling what that reason might be.

"As you are all aware I've been trying to appeal to Bellatrix and the Dark Lord that I should be allowed into the Lestrange vault …"

"Yes, we are," Sirius said as if to tell her to get to the point.

"With Lucius and the others that have been released from Azkaban, there is far less reason for the Dark Lord to need anything from the Lestrange vault." Narcissa sighed. "I believe that was the main reason why the Dark Lord wanted those prisoners to be freed. Everyone knows that the goblins won't stop anyone going into a vault whether they're criminals or not. Nor will they stop someone that has the permission, which is what I had hoped to have gain before the release of the prisoners. We have become very low in the funds to support the Dark Lord, or at least we had been before Christmas."

"But with what happened …" Emmeline groaned. "All the people that have been freed from Azkaban had some of the biggest vaults in the country."

"Which is precisely why they were the ones to be freed," Narcissa said, "he left the other Death Eaters imprisoned because he had no use for them … at least not yet."

"So he left the other filthy Death Eaters to rot in prison … what a nice boss you have," Sirius shook his head. "He really makes everyone want to work for him doesn't he?"

"Everyone that joins the Dark Lord knows that he is ruthless and he doesn't accept failure," Narcissa said. "Gold isn't all that the ones that have been freed had to pay … but most were able to hold onto a fairly good place within the Death Eaters."

"And what about your dear old hubby?" Sirius asked coldly.

"Lucius is not in the position he was before," Narcissa said, her expression was blank, not showing any emotion. "But he will find a way to get back on good terms with the Dark Lord … he always does."

"And you think that's a good thing?" Sirius asked.

Narcissa didn't say anything, she really wasn't sure if that would be helpful or not.

"Sirius stop," Emmeline said. "All you're doing is making her upset and she's on our side."

"I just have to know what she thinks," Sirius said. "If her allegiance is split …"

"I assure you," Narcissa interrupted him. "Draco is my first concern … I will not let anything happen to him. Obviously, no matter what you think of him, I don't want anything to happen to my husband …"

"So your allegiance is split," Sirius sighed and sat next to his cousin. "You know your son has just asked Dumbledore and the others for lenience for Lucius if you were all to survive this war."

"He …" Narcissa started to say, looking surprised.

"You people … I don't see why you care about that man, he doesn't deserve you," Sirius said and Narcissa glared at him. "Whatever, it's not for me to understand something like that. Though maybe you can get old Lucy to help you trick Voldemort … though obviously don't tell him what you're doing."

"It won't be that easy," Narcissa sighed. "I don't think the Dark Lord wants anyone going into the Lestrange vault."

"Of course not," Remus sighed. "We should have thought of that before. He wouldn't want anyone near his Horcruxes even if no one is supposed to know about it."

"We're going to have to talk to Bill again," Sirius said. "There are other ways to getting into the vault."

"You know, if you think about it the book gave us one of those ways," Remus said thoughtfully.

"You mean by using Polyjuice to turn into Be …" Sirius started to say.

"No, actually I was referring to the fact that Snape had put a fake Sword of Gryffindor into the vault," Remus said.

"Hm … that's right," Sirius said thoughtfully. "But I don't see why that would help us … I don't think Voldemort would want to put just anything in the vault."

"No, I wouldn't imagine he would," Remus said. "I would think the only reason why he had put the sword in there was because it was one of the Hogwarts founders' belongings."

"We don't have any of the founders' belongings," Sirius pointed out. "Well except for the locket and the Diadem, but seeing as they're both destroyed it would be really bad if he knows about that."

"I was actually thinking that the sword was the only thing we could use to help us open the vault," Remus said.

"But … just how are we supposed to give the sword to Voldemort so he could put it into the vault?" Sirius asked.

"That is the question," Remus said. "I'm not sure, but we will have to think of something to … that is if you think this is a good idea."

"I do," Sirius said, "what do you two think?"

"I'm still wondering what you mean about what happened in the book," Emmeline said. "Or why Voldemort would care about belongings of the Hogwarts founders. Especially something that had once belonged to Gryffindor."

"I'm not clear on that matter either," Narcissa added.

"Then I'll explain," Sirius said, and the told them everything he knew about the subject and Remus added anything he left out.

"Hm … that just might work," Narcissa said.

"You'll have to make sure that you're the one that they send to the vault though …" Sirius said.

"As long as my sister and her husband are still fugitives, I would be the best choice to go to the vault," Narcissa said.

"Well that's good at least," Sirius said.

"But I should say we don't have a long time before it will be too late," Narcissa said. "The Dark Lord already has control over the Ministry, though he's not able to do anything he wants as of yet. The more time that passes, the more likely the known Death Eaters will no longer be hunted."

"Then we'll think of something quickly," Sirius said. His eyes had grown darker at Narcissa's warning and he was going to make sure that things don't get that bad.

"Do you think … um … maybe you could have the Slytherins that are still students, take the sword, you know as some kind of prank?" Emmeline asked, it was an hour later and they had been on this matter for all that time but nothing seemed to be helpful.

Sirius grimaced at that, the thought of the Slytherins taking the Sword of Gryffindor was horrible to think about. The sword was the symbol of Gryffindor after all and it would hurt if it was taken. "It might work, but I don't know how Voldemort would learn that the sword has been taken."

"The children of the Death Eaters have been asked to report anything that happens in the castle," Narcissa supplied. "They would surely tell if the sword was taken."

"Besides, what kid wouldn't brag if they had taken something like that," Remus pointed out. "I seem to recall that was the downfall to all of our pranks."

"What's the point of doing something if no one knows that you've done it," Sirius shrugged. "But you have a point, everyone will know what happened. However, I don't think it would be a good thing if Draco was the one to do this."

"No, that would be bad when he's supposed to be working on how to get Death Eaters into Hogwarts," Emmeline said.

"Well there is that, but it's more than that," Sirius said. "It might look bad if Draco is the one that got the sword … or even had the idea of stealing the sword and then have his mum be the one that takes the sword to the vault. Voldemort is known to be paranoid and he's good at knowing when someone is lying to him. I know you're good at hiding your feelings and all but if he really suspects you … no one can stop him from knowing the truth."

"You're right, of course," Narcissa sighed.

"That doesn't mean that this idea won't work … it just means we'll have to think of something," Remus said.

"Continuing planning this matter if you want, but I must leave now," Narcissa said. "If I'm gone any longer Lucius will notice."

"Don't worry Cissa, we'll have everything planned out by the next time we see you," Sirius said smiling encouragingly.

"I'm sure you will," Narcissa said leaving the room then the house.

Sirius watched her as she went, worried about the added danger she was in now that Lucius was free and prayed that she would be okay.


	38. Conflicted

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Eight

Conflicted

"I can't believe you're really going to miss the next match," Seamus said. "You don't look hurt at all."

"Yeah, well, that doesn't mean I'm not hurt," Ron shrugged, the simple movement taking more of an effort than he would like, though he made sure that no one noticed the strain it took him. "It's not that big of a deal, I'll be healed before we play in the final."

"Not that big of a deal!" Dean said.

"Mate have you gone mad," Seamus said indeed looking at Ron as if he was crazy. "It's huge! If we lose to Hufflepuff then it will make it that much harder for us to get the cup! We'd have to do more than beat Ravenclaw … we would have to destroy them!"

"Aren't you going a little over board …" Harry said.

"Aren't you a little relaxed for a being the captain?" Seamus shook his head.

"Seriously Seamus, you're not even on the team, why are you so upset about this?" Ginny pointed out.

"That was a low blow," Ron muttered to his sister as Seamus face turned red.

"You don't have to be on the team to care about Quidditch," Seamus grumbled. "And none of you seem to realize that Ravenclaw had flattened Hufflepuff and they're probably going to destroy Slytherin too … which means if we lose this coming up game that we're going to be in a tight spot."

"Well I'm glad you think Gryffindor can't win a game without me …" Ron said grinning widely.

"I didn't say that …" Seamus argued but the red head wasn't listening.

"But I'm sure whoever Harry's going to replace me with will do fine," Ron continued. "By the way Harry … who are you getting?"

"I'm not sure … McLaggen was the best of the people that tried out," Harry said, this was something the seventh year Gryffindor had mentioned to Harry several times over the past week. He looked over to the other side of the common room where McLaggen was talking with his friends.

"Oh please … don't pick him," Ginny said making a face. "He's a jerk."

"That's no reason to not pick someone if they're good," Seamus put in his two cents.

"Maybe, but you don't really need someone that disrupts the team," Neville pointed out. "Especially since it's only for one game."

"He has a point," Dean said thoughtfully. "If what happen at the tryouts is any indication, McLaggen is probably going to try to prove that he's better than Ron …"

"Which he's not," Ron interrupted, not that anyone paid him any attention.

"Who knows what he would do to try to prove that," Dean concluded.

"Then who do you reckon I should use if not McLaggen," Harry said frowning. "I don't think there was anyone else at the tryout that saved two shots."

"Seriously mate, you've got to play," Seamus said turning back to Ron.

"He's already said he can't!" Hermione snapped at Seamus.

"Er …" Seamus said surprised at being yelled at by her and noticing for the first time that her hands were balled into fist. He raised an eyebrow, clearly questioning why she was so upset about this but didn't get the chance to say anything as Hermione got up and left the common room.

"Hermione, wait …" Ron said starting to get up to go after her, but stopped as he noticed she was halfway up the stairs to the girl's dormitories and he couldn't follow her even if he wanted to. He then turned back and glared at Seamus. "Why did you have to keep pestering me about that?"

"Why the hell does she care so much," Seamus snapped back. "She's never cared about Quidditch before."

"You really think that was about Quidditch?" Neville asked looking concerned.

"What do you mean?" Seamus asked. "It's not about Quidditch?"

"I don't think so," Neville frowned. "She's been acting oddly since we've got back from the holidays."

"No she hasn't," Ron said in what he hoped was a convincing manner.

Seamus looked at Ron convinced now that Neville had a point. Turning to Harry, who seemed to be finding the ceiling fascinating at the moment, he said, "So what happened?"

"You're an idiot Ron," Ginny said shaking her head. "You practically told them something happened."

"I didn't bring this up," Ron grumbled shooting a glare at Neville.

"Sorry," he mumbled. "I didn't mean to pry."

"So what happened?" Seamus asked again.

"That's none of your bloody business," Ron snapped and he left the common room much like his girlfriend had done moment ago.

Seamus turned to Harry and Ginny, but neither one of them said anything either. "I don't know why I even bothered, you guys never tell us anything."

"It's not really my place to say," Harry said getting up to head to the boy's dormitory.

Ginny, not wanting to be the only one left for the other's to question, got up as well. She had planned to go to her own room, but when she found herself outside of the sixth years door. She wasn't sure what she was doing here, she hadn't talked to Hermione much for the last week, ever since the meeting with Draco because she was angry with Hermione for defending his request.

"Oh Ginny, whatever it is, you want you might want to save it for later," Parvati said as she walked out of the door followed by Lavender. "I don't think Hermione wants to talk to anyone … and we're leaving."

"I'll take my chances," Ginny shrugged and entered the room.

"What are you doing here?" Hermione asked.

"Now, now, Hermione, is that any way to talk to your friend," Ginny scolded teasingly.

"I'm not in the mood to talk right now," Hermione rolled her eyes.

"Why, are you too busy blaming yourself for Ron not being able to play in the up coming match?" Ginny asked bluntly and Hermione's shoulders dropped.

"It's not fair … for him to be injured like that," Hermione agreed. "I know how hard it is on Ron not being able to play and I just got angry that Seamus was bothering him about it."

"Yeah, he was being a bit annoying wasn't he," Ginny said. "But that's Seamus."

Neither one of the girls said anything for a long time.

"You know the others were worried about you," Ginny said.

"Yeah right," Hermione snorted in disbelief.

"Well, Neville was worried … he's noticed that you've been uptight since the holidays," Ginny said and Hermione stiffed. "Ron sort of made it clear that something happened but we didn't say more than that. Hermione, are you planning on telling the others about the attack?"

"No," Hermione answered immediately. "It's none of their business."

"But they're our friends," Ginny pointed out. "And maybe it would do you some good to talk about this …"

"I'm doing fine," Hermione lied, she knew that in many ways she was still very affected by what happened over the holidays. Half the time she was angry and the other half she was worried. Whatever time she had left she spent it trying not to think about the attack and concentrating on her work. "Besides, what do you care, you haven't even talked to me in a week."

"You know that's because of …!" Ginny started to shout but stopped herself before she said too much. There was no telling who was listening in to them it wasn't safe to talk about the meeting with Draco so openly. "You know what I mean."

"I don't see why you're angry at me about that when it wasn't even my choice to make," Hermione rolled her eyes. "And you're not even angry with Harry about that anymore … why are you still upset with me?"

"First of all," Ginny said hotly. "You know that I've never been good at being angry with Harry."

"Hmph," Hermione snorted but she couldn't help but being slightly amused by Ginny's response.

"Second, I don't understand how you of all people could think it was okay," Ginny said. "I mean you're supposed to care about justice and rights and stuff. How could you just agree like that."

Hermione bowed her head at that. "You're right of course. I shouldn't have agreed. I shouldn't have been on his side. But after what he did for me over the holidays …" she looked up at Ginny, her eyes pleading the other girl to understand her reasoning. "How could I not try and help him? Especially with a request like that."

Ginny grimaced, it was easier to see her friend's point a week after that meeting happened but she still wasn't happy about the decision that was made. "Oh screw this, Muffliato," Ginny said pointing her wand at the door.

"Gin I still don't think it's wise to talk about …" Hermione cautioned.

"Yeah, well, I've got to say this or I'm going to be angry for another week," Ginny said. "You know what Lucius Malfoy has done to me … and what he has done to countless other people. I know that you feel that you owe Draco because he was the one that let us know that the Death Eaters were attacking …"

"It's more than that," Hermione frowned. "I almost lost my dad … I know what it's like to fear that there's nothing you can do to help."

"Yeah, well if you don't remember my dad was nearly killed too, only last year, but you don't see me being all sympathetic," Ginny pointed out.

"That was before we changed things," Hermione said softly. "In the book the Malfoys … my parents … they weren't hurt. If we didn't choose to change anything, nothing would ever have happened to either of our parents. I can understand what Draco is feeling better than anyone."

Ginny huffed and then sat on Hermione's bed. "It still doesn't mean that that jerk should get away with things."

"I know," Hermione sat next to her. "I'm was thinking more about Draco's mentality than Lucius' crimes … that's not right …"

"No, but you have the right to think of what you want," Ginny sighed. "Sorry for being mad at your for disagreeing with me."

"That's okay," Hermione said.

"Mione, you really should think about telling the others about what happened," Ginny said. "It feels a lot better when you let go of the anger you've been holding onto."

"Yeah, maybe," Hermione sighed.

O

"Hermione? What are you doing here?" Dean asked. He answered the door to the boy's dormitory later that night. "It's kind of late."

"I came to apologize," Hermione sighed.

"It couldn't have waited until the morning," Dean muttered but stepped aside to let Hermione in.

"Well, I have something else to say, and I don't think I'll do it if I don't say it right now," Hermione said, walking over to Ron, who was looking confused.

"Mione, what …?" he stated to ask.

"On Christmas my house was attacked by Death Eaters," Hermione forced herself to say before she leaned her head against Ron's chest. She knew that she was showing weakness and she always hated showing that but she needed the comfort of Ron's arms right now and she didn't want to see how the others reacted to this.

"What … are you okay?" Neville asked, jumping out of his bed and taking a few steps closer to Hermione before hesitating, not sure what to do now.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Hermione said bitterly.

"Hermione, you know it's not your fau …" Ron started to say softly to her.

"Ron, Gin, Fred, George and I all went to her house to visit just after the attack started …" Harry explained to the other, realizing that Hermione wasn't going to say more and that if no one did, the others were likely to ask questions that shouldn't be answered. "That's how Ron got hurt …"

"Oh … Shite," Seamus said his eyes widening. "Hermione I'm sorry that I kept bringing it up …"

"It's not your fault," Hermione sighed. "You didn't know."

"It's not you're fault either," Ron said. "I'd rather never play Quidditch again than have you hurt. It's that bitch's fault anyways."

Hermione smiled sadly at him. "I know that …"

"Who …? Who are you talking about," Neville asked, his face had gone pale. "Who … attacked …?"

Hermione didn't say anything as she looked at him miserably.

"It was her … wasn't it," Neville said in a shaky voice before he balled his fists and clenched his teeth.

"Do you know who it was?" Seamus asked Dean in a whisper.

"Bellatrix Lestrange," Neville answered, the look in his eyes was so furious that the other two cowered from him. It was really quite odd to see their normally shy friend look so murderous.

"Yes, she was there," Hermione said.

"But no one was hurt," Harry hasted to say.

"Not permanently at least," Ron grumbled.

"I'm glad you're okay, Hermione," Neville said and the anger drained from him to be replaced by sadness. "And I can understand why you couldn't bring this up before."

"Thanks Neville," Hermione smiled and walked over to hug him. When she released him she didn't know what to do so she added, "I should probably go …"

"Are you going to be okay," Ron asked, concern. He knew she had nightmare sometimes about what had happened.

"Yeah … I think I will," Hermione smiled, and went back to give him a kiss. "It feels nice to say this out loud … to tell someone that didn't already know what happened. To get this off of my chest."

"You're just saying that to look brave," Ron grumbled.

"I might be … but you don't have to ruin my attempt," Hermione pouted and Ron chuckled. She kissed him one more time before she left the boy's dormitory.


	39. Idea

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Thirty-Nine

Idea

"Look, I've told you that you have to do it, so just stop arguing with me," Draco snapped out in frustration.

"If you tell me why …" Goyle grumbled.

"You don't need to know," Draco said in a cold voice that closed the subject.

"Maybe if we didn't have to be girls …" Crabbe said this time and Goyle nodded his head in agreement.

"Why do we have to be girls, anyways?" Goyle added.

"Because it's less suspicious that way," Draco said, though a part of him just thought it was funny to make his dorm mates change into little girls.

"When are you going to get this … thing finished?" Crabbe wined.

"It will be finished when it's finished," Draco shrugged. "We better get going, the Quidditch match is about to start … the castle should be nearly empty."

"Then you don't really …" Goyle started to say hopeful but Draco just got up and left the room, and the other two looked at each other before they took the potion that would change them.

Hours later Draco, Goyle, and Crabbe (back in their normal forms) were walking back to their common room when they heard the cheering of the crowd.

"It looks like Saint Potter won again," Draco said in a snare. "Someone needs to take him down a notch," just then there was another roar of cheering as the crowd of people passed them with boisterous smiles, "take all the Gryffindors down. It's too bad I don't have time to do anything about it."

"Maybe we could something," Crabbe suggested, because that sounded like a better idea than standing by a door all day.

"You?" Draco scoffed and then chuckled. Crabbe narrowed his eyes in an obviously show of angry but didn't say anything. "Maybe I can talk to Blaise … it doesn't do us any good to have Potter think he could he can just walk around like some kind of hero."

It took them several minutes to get back to their dorm room where they found Blaise and Nott already there.

"How bad was the game," Draco asked Blaise.

"Gryffindor won by ten points," he said with a groan. "They actually had Finnigan playing … he was worst than the Weasel was last year and we didn't even have to taunt him …"

"Let me guess, Potter caught the snitch in the last second," Draco grumbled and Blaise nodded his head.

"Yep," Blaise grimaced and Draco groaned. "It made me sick to see those Gryffindor bastards cheering."

"I know what you mean," Draco sighed. "I only saw them for a second and I wanted to puck."

"We're going to do something to make sure they have nothing to cheer about for a long time," Crabbe said and Blaise looked mildly impressed as he turned to Draco.

"Really … what are you planning?"

"He's not planning anything," Crabbe said. "I am."

"Right," Blaise chuckled and looked at Draco as if waiting for the blonde to tell him what was really happening.

"I have nothing to do with this," Draco said with a shrug. "I was actually hoping that you or Nott would do something …"

"Me?" Blaise said shaking his head. "You're the one that likes to antagonize Potter. I don't see why I should do anything now."

"I said that I was going to do it," Crabbe said glaring at Draco and then Blaise in turns, his face red in frustration. "You never think that I can do anything on my own! But I'll prove to you … to everyone that I can! I'm going to make the Gryffindors suffer like no one else has!"

"And what do you plan on doing?" Blaise asked with a sly grin.

"I'll … um … I'll curse Potter …" Crabbe said, his angry faltering for a second as he tried to think of something he could do to back up his clam.

"As if that's anything new," Draco rolled his eyes. "We fight with Potter all the time and none of the other Gryffindors care."

"That's because Potter almost always gets the best of you," Blaise pointed out and this time Draco glared at him. "But Draco's right, you'd probably have to do something bigger to make anyone care."

"But what can we do?" Goyle asked with what was probably a thoughtful expression but it was hard to tell with him. "What's bigger?"

"Anything is better than what you imbeciles thought of," Draco said. "Maybe you should think of something that Gryffindor is known for and start there. Now if you don't mind, I have other things to worry about than this pointless ventures."

"Known for?" Goyle repeated looking more confused than ever. "What are Gryffindors known for?"

"Bravery," Crabbe answered stupidly. "How are we supposed to steal their bravery?"

"You are hopeless." Draco smacked his head, he should have known better than to trust that they would come up with the plan without him outright saying it.

"The sword of Gryffindor," Nott said with a sigh. "That's the symbol of Gryffindor that could be stolen."

"Oh," Goyle said looking at Crabbe.

"The sword of Gryffindor," Crabbe repeated and smiled, looking determined. "That's it. That's what I'll do."

Blaise started laughing and Draco joined in a second later.

"You think that you can take the sword," Blaise said through his laughter. "That will never happen."

"You watch! I'll take it!" Crabbe shouted ferociously before he stormed out of the room.

"Crabbe wait …" Goyle shouted after his friend and then turned back to look at Draco and his other dorm mates.

"You should probably go with him, it's not like you any use to anyone else," Draco said to Goyle who flushed. "I won't need a guard for another few days."

Goyle soon stormed out of the room to go find Crabbe.

"Well that was entertaining," Blaise said still chuckling as he got up. "I'll see you guys later."

"Yeah, whatever," Draco said going over to his bed, feeling pretty good about how things worked out. Thanks to Nott, he got Crabbe and Goyle trying to steal the sword of Gryffindor. Seeing as Dumbledore actually wants the sword to be stolen, the two idiots should be able to pull it off. And when they did, they would definitely brag about it, which means that the Dark Lord will find out about it eventually. At least that's what will happen if everything works out the right way.

"What game are you playing, Malfoy?" Nott asked and Draco turned to the quite Slytherin.

"What makes you think I'm playing a game?" Draco questioned back in an indifferent tone.

"You manipulated the others with ease," Nott said. "You knew that Crabbe and Goyle were fed up with playing bodyguard as you tried to do the_ great mission_ of yours," he went on, rolling his eyes at the last part. "You've been pushing them harder for the last three weeks … pushing them pass even their will to follow your every whim. Then you come in here and used Blaise vanity to help them realize what you wanted them to. So I ask again, what are you planning?"

"I'm not planning anything," Draco said, trying not to show any of the nerves he was feeling. Nott, unlike his other dorm mates was not easily suede. He had always done his own thing. He was easy enough to get along with but usually he didn't bother socializing most of the time.

"You haven't acted like yourself for the last year," Nott went on. "You've stop complaining about Potter every day …"

"I have bigger things to worry about," Draco rolled his eyes.

"Maybe since the beginning of our sixth year … since you were assigned a mission," Nott said, "but that doesn't explain why you've been different since the last Christmas holidays."

Draco swallowed deeply, but he kept his expression indifferent … or as indifferent as he could.

"You don't have to tell me," Nott sighed. "I shouldn't have said anything. I was just curious why you wanted the sword stolen … It seem like an odd thing for you to want."

"Why did you suggest the sword yourself, if you thought it was such an odd thing for me to do?" Draco asked before he could think.

"Because you never would have gotten the others get to the point," Nott said. "Even Blaise is too thick to understand what you were suggesting. You would have been here for hours and still they wouldn't have a clue. I didn't feel like having my time wasted in a such trival matter."

Draco actually smiled at that … he thought the same thing himself.

"You know, you're not so bad anymore," Nott said picking up one of his books and opened it.

Draco could tell that Nott was done talking, but he wanted to know what Nott had meant by that. "What …?"

"You're not as much of a prat as you were before," Nott said with a smirk that Draco hadn't seen before. He didn't really know why, Nott was basically making fun of him, but he took that comment almost as a compliment.

"Whatever," Draco said picking up a book himself and started reading it.

O

"Mr. Goyle, I'll like to know what you think you're doing?" McGonagall asked, her nostrils flaring as she looked at her classroom that was in total ruins now.

"Um …" Goyle said stupidly, as he sweat in terror. He had no idea how he become the one that would have to face McGonagall after he and Crabbe had used the Blasting Curse on everything that they could find in the Transfiguration classroom. He vaguely remembered laughing when Crabbe mentioning it would be fun to destroy a classroom and it only made sense that it would be McGonagall's seeing as she was the head of Gryffindor, but now that he was standing in front of the fiery Professor, that now looked more terrifying that anything he had ever seen before, he wished that he picked any other professor.

"Answer me now!" McGonagall said in a cold voice that was filled with fury. "Why have you destroyed my classroom?"

Goyle could do no more then to stare at her as she shouted at him for another ten minutes, turning a brilliant shad of red before she took him to the Headmaster's office. It was an hour later that Goyle was being dragged back into the Slytherin common room by a very irritated Snape.

"Never before have I've been so disappointed in one of my students before," Snape said in a cold voice. "You were quite lucky that Dumbledore was feeling generous because you could have been expelled for the disrespect that you have shown to one of your Professors. If you do anything at all for the rest of the year, I will personally expel you!"

Snape turned and exited the room.

"I don't think I've ever seen Snape that angry before," a third year girl said. "Not even when he's yelling at the Gryffindors about something."

"What did you do?" a fifth year asked.

"Which Professor did you disrespect?" a seventh year asked excitedly.

"McGonagall," Goyle said confused. He was not used to other looking to him to answer anything and he felt uncomfortable but pleased at the same time. "Crabbe and I had a little fun in the Transfiguration classroom."

"That was you!" a fourth year said looking impressed. "I heard McGonagall yelling … the room was a complete wreck."

"So what, it's not like that was such a great thing," Draco grumbled. "Beside, he obviously wasn't smart enough not to get caught …"

"The plan was for me to get caught," Goyle said glaring at Draco, though he looked hurt by what the blonde Slytherin had just said.

"Why would you want to get caught?" Blaise asked, rolling his eyes.

"You'll see why when Crabbe gets back," Goyle grumbled as he sat down in one of the seats facing away from his dorm mates. For a few second no one said anything, and the the normal conversation started up again. Several people went over to ask Goyle more about what happened and he told them the whole story, starting to feel better about all of this as he told the story. Even the detentions that he got and the points that he lost didn't seem so bad now.

O

Thanks to Draco, Crabbe knew a way to lurk around a place without anyone realizing that he was there. He never thought he would be grateful to walk around as an girl, but right now he knew that he wouldn't have been able to stand by the Headmaster's office as McGonagall said the password. He wasn't sure what Dumbledore was thinking when he picked 'acid pops' as a password, but it didn't matter, he had heard what it was and now he could get into the office at any time he wanted to.

It also seemed it was a good thing that he was use to standing around in one spot for hours at a time, knowing exactly when he would need to take more of the Polyjuice Potion so that he wouldn't change back into himself. It was a little more difficult to make sure that Filch didn't see him once it became after hours and he was starting to worry that Dumbledore would never leave his office. He was down to the last potion he brought that day, and wondering if he would have to wait until another day to try to sneak into the office. He knew that he didn't want to go into the office as himself. Having been in there before, he knew the portraits of old Headmaster watched everything and they had no problem with spreading rumors. Luckily for him, that was when Dumbledore had decided to leave his office.

Grinning to himself, he walked over the gargoyles that guarded the headmaster office and said, "Acid Pops."

The gargoyles didn't look too pleased to move, but did so anyways as Crabbe did have the right password. Once he actually got into the office he looked around the place quickly, taking a few seconds to locate the sword in the case near the sorting hate. Dumbledore must have been doing something in that case before he left the office, because it was already open. He reached in and grabbed the sword, gleefully hiding it in his robes before he ran from the office.

He had no idea that this thief had gone by much too easily. He didn't stop to think that it was odd that none of the portraits asked what he (or she as he was still disguised as a girl) was doing there. He didn't wonder why Fawkes didn't so much as make a noise. He didn't realize if Dumbledore had not wanted the sword to be stolen, he never would have gotten out of the office. No, all that he knew was that he had just pulled off the most brilliant thief in years. Something that no one every thought that he would do … and he proved it to Draco and Blaise that he was capable of doing anything that they could do … that he could something that they didn't even dare to do!

**A/N: Okay, so I didn't really feel comfortable writing in Crabbe or Goyle's point of view, so I'm not sure if this is a good chapter or not, but I felt that it would make the most sense to did it this way. Hopefully this wasn't as bad as I thought it was and if not, at least it move my story along so that I could final get to trying to get the cup out of the Lestrange vault. **


	40. The Vault

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty

The Vault

"Thank you Severus," Voldemort said to his spy as he took the sword from him. "You may go."

"My Lord," Snape bowed deeply before he exited the room.

Voldemort looked at the sword in his hand and a smile actually crossed his face. How long had he looked for something that had once belonged to Godric Gryffindor. It was the only founder of Hogwarts that he did not have a belonging of, though he had told himself that it was justifiable because it was Gryffindor's. Gryffindor, after all was the weakest of all the founders, what with his belief that mudbloods had a use in the Wizarding society. Still, he wasn't about to throw away the sword now, not when it made his collection complete.

He wondered if he should make another Horcrux, to truly make everything balanced, but he quickly dismissed that idea. Seven was a strong magical number and he wasn't going to change that now. Part of him wished that he could have found the sword a few years ago, but at the same time Nagini made a suitable Horcrux. Indeed he had found the connection with his snake to be beneficial. In truth, something of Gryffindor's didn't deserve a piece of his soul. The item wasn't worthy of that.

Still, it was good that he had the sword, now he would just have to think of what to do with it. He had little use of it here, but he wanted it in a place that was safe where no one could reach it. An idea came to him and he thought it would do best. The sword would be safe there and it would be nice to have some of the relics together …

"Nagini, would you get the Malfoys for me," he hissed in parseltongue.

"You wanted to see us, My Lord," Lucius Malfoy said, bowing a few minutes later.

The change in his old lieutenant was remarkable. It wasn't just the fact he looked horrible but it was the personal punishment he had put on Lucius that made him look so defeated right now. It was good to see how well his displeasure had worked and that the rest of his lieutenants have worked hard to make sure that they didn't suffer Lucius' fate.

"I have a task for you," Voldemort said evenly, amused to see the hopeful expression in Lucius' eyes.

"You do!" Lucius gasped. Even a task would be better than just sitting around in the Manner being of no use to anyone.

Voldemort shifted his gaze from Lucius to his wife. "Narcissa."

Lucius face fell in his disappointment.

"Perhaps if your wife is able to succeed, unlike you have," Voldemort said coldly causing the desire effect. Lucius paled and looked even more pathetic than he did before. "I might consider giving you another chance. Of course, considering that your son has yet to show any progress in his mission, there might not be anything I can do. To be honest I had expected more from the Malfoy family. Perhaps I should have given Crabbe's son the mission … he at least have given me something of value. Tell me Lucius, how does it feel that your son was out shined by a common thug."

Lucius gritted his teeth, having no argument for that. First of all, he didn't know what Voldemort was talking about. Second, even if he did, it was never a good idea to argue with Voldemort … especially when he was gloating like he was now.

"Thanks to Crabbe, I now have this," Voldemort said pulling out the sword of Gryffindor. "A nice spoil of war wouldn't you say."

"I didn't realize that you wanted the Sword of Gryffindor," Lucius said. "If I had known, I would have …"

"Save your breath," Voldemort said, not caring to hear whatever he had to say. "Now for the task I need you to do. Narcissa I need you to bring this sword to a Gringotts vault."

"Yes, my Lord," Narcissa bowed, her face blank as it had been since the beginning of this conversation. Voldemort was actually impressed by how coolly she had taken the disgrace of her husband and power source. Despite being in disgrace herself, she had never shown it in her manner. Something her husband wasn't able to accomplish at all. "Do you want to put it in the Malfoy vault …"

"No," Voldemort said in contempt. "You think I would want anything of mine in that vault. I want the sword in a vault of one of my most faithful Death Eaters. However, all of my faithful Death Eaters are known criminals. The goblins at Gringotts will allow anyone into their vault, criminal or not, however, the wizards that come in and out of the bank will notice if one of my Death Eaters are there. You on the other hand are able to go to the vault in question without making a scene. I need you to go into the Lestrange vault and place this sword there … you are not to touch anything else. And I'd like you to take Gibbon with you."

"Yes, my lord," Narcissa bowed again, her expression the same as it was before.

"Go now," Voldemort dismissed the Malfoys.

O

It was all she could do to not show the excitement she was feeling. Finally, after months of planning, she was going to be going to the Lestrange vault. However, to show anything right now as she stood in front of the Dark Lord would ruin everything. She could not raise his suspicions at all, or she might find herself in serious trouble. She also had to work hard not to let her control over her Occlumency slip in the slightest … try not to think of anything dangerous. She never before had to control herself like she did in that moment … controlling her emotions and thoughts but she seemed to have pulled it off. However, she wasn't nearly done with being in danger as Bellatrix came over handing her a vial.

"The Dark Lord as informed me that you are to put something in my vault," Bellatrix said looking annoyed, and Narcissa was sure that her sister was upset that she wasn't able to run this task for Voldemort. Though it was a simple task, Bellatrix longed to do anything to make her master happy, and it was clear that the Dark Lord was pleased by obtaining the sword. Bellatrix might even have known why the Dark Lord was so pleased about this, knowing that Helga Hufflepuff's cup was currently in her vault.

"Yes," Narcissa said, "I'm to leave right now. Is this going to prove that I have your permission to enter the vault?"

"Yes, it should be enough for the goblins," Bellatrix said. "Though they will make sure that you are who you say you are before they let you into the vault."

"Bella you know …" Narcissa started to say, trying to react properly to her sister's attitude.

"Don't let Gibbon into the vault," Bellatrix said, ignoring Narcissa attempt to appease her. She didn't need coddling. "I don't want that filth near my possessions."

"You have my word," Narcissa said, personally thinking that this would be beneficial to her. Then again, she had not expected to have someone assigned to go with her. She wasn't not sure how that was going to work with the plan that had made with the others. Nor was she sure how she was going to allow the others to know about the extra complication.

"Narcissa," Lucius voice penetrated her thoughts and she looked at her husband. "The task is easy, you will be able to do this."

"I know," Narcissa replied to him.

Lucius looked at her closely … closer than the Dark Lord or Bellatrix had looked at her. "Then why are you so worried?"

Narcissa sighed, trying not to let the panic that was now building in her to show. Of course Lucius would see past the mask that she wore. He knew her better than anyone did … knew when she was worried or not. "I'm worried about Draco," she said to him, which was true, she was worried about her son. She had been worried about him since the beginning of this year when all of this started. That constant nagging worry had not gone away since. "With what the Dark Lord said about him not making progress … I fear he might do something to Draco soon …"

"You should be more worried about us," Lucius said, turning away from his wife and looking down. "The Dark Lord's anger will be taken out on us before he would do anything to Draco. But I believe that when you complete this task we will have more time before he will do anything. It is important that nothing goes wrong today."

Narcissa felt a stab of regret as she listened to what Lucius said. He had no idea that she was planning on going against the Dark Lord. That she was helping the Order of the Phoenix. Nor did he know that things could go very wrong and the Dark Lord might know of it. She knew that Lucius was in as much danger as she was right now, but she could not tell him. She was not sure what Lucius would do if, and when, he learned the truth about everything that happened since he was imprisoned in Azkaban.

"You are quite capable of handling this," Lucius said putting a supporting hand on her shoulder.

"Mrs. Malfoy, are you ready to go?" Gibbons asked. She nodded at him. She left without turning back to Lucius, sure that she wouldn't be able to hide her emotions from him this time.

O

"Emmeline, it's time!" Sirius shouted as he pulled out the coin from his pocket, no message on it at all, but he didn't need one. This was the signal that they had decided to use, knowing that Narcissa probably wouldn't have time to send an actually message once she was given the mission to take the sword to the vault.

"Then we better get going," Emmeline said as she came into the room pointing her wand at him. Sirius stood still as she cast several charms on him. Disillusioning charms that would make it so he wouldn't be noticed by people, and make it so he didn't quite look like himself. Sirius did the same for her and then the two of them were walking out of Grimmauld Place, spinning on the spot to reappear in the Leaky Cauldron.

"We better hurry," Sirius said, grabbing Emmeline's hand and running through the streets of Diagon Alley. Unfortunately for them, the streets weren't crowded as few people wanted to shop with the times being as dangerous as they were. It was a relief to Sirius that their charms seemed to be working. The few people that had been in the street didn't seem to notice them at all, despite the fact that they were running. That in itself normally would have drawn plenty of attention.

"This looks like a good spot," Emmeline said and Sirius stopped running. She was right, this spot allowed them to see the entrance to Gringotts but not be so close as to be noticed. It was true that they wouldn't be noticed right now, anyways but the spell they were using was detectable if you knew what you were looking for. It was just safe to keep some distance.

"There she is," Sirius said and then frowned. "Someone is with her."

"How are we supposed to help her without being noticed?" Emmeline wondered.

"We'll worry about that when the time is right," Sirius shrugged. "We have other things to do right now."

"Right," Emmeline agreed and the two walked to Gringotts where Bill was waiting for them at the front doors in front of the building.

"Ah, there you are," Bill said, holding his hand out to Sirius and having an overly wide smile on his face.

"Bill, what …?" Sirius started to ask.

"The Death Eater with Narcissa is waiting in the hallway," Bill informed them in a whisper, "I don't think it would be good if he sees you there … especially not if he hears you're going to your vault."

"But I have to get to my vault," Sirius hissed, though kept his voice down too.

"Obviously were going to have to go to plan B," Bill said.

"Bloody hell, I was hoping we wouldn't have to do that," Sirius groaned, looking at the building sadly.

O

"Ah, Mrs. Malfoy, what a pleasure it is to see you again," one of the goblins said, when she walked up in front of his desk with Gibbon standing behind her.

"I would like to talk to Bogrod," Narcissa said, then she quickly added, "in his office."

The goblin in front of her looked curious about the request, but answered, "very well, come with me." When Gibbon made to walk with her, the goblin said, "I'm sorry Mr. Gibbon but you are not allowed to come any farther as of now. Please wait in the lobby."

Gibbon didn't look too happy about that, but didn't protest after Narcissa gave him a look. She was then shown into a fairly nice office and told to sit down as she waited for the other goblin to come.

"Welcome Mrs. Malfoy, what is it that you need from us today," Bogrod said after he came into the room and sat behind his desk. "It is unusual for you to request to see one of us personally …"

"I am here on behalf of my sister Bellatrix Lestrange," Narcissa said and the goblin raised an eyebrow at that but said nothing as she handed him a vial and a paper. The goblin read the paper himself, a signed contract from Bellatrix and Rodolphus Lestrange allowing Narcissa Malfoy to enter their vault on this date and only this date. The goblin took several minutes looking at the contract and then he did something that made the parchment glow.

"It seems like this is in order," Bogrod said and then looked at the vial that he was given, pouring it's contents into bowl and examining it just as closely as he had the contract. He nodded his head, "and so is this. Now I will need a drop of your blood to prove your status."

"Of course," Narcissa said as she took the little knife the goblin handed her, pricked her figure with it. "Is this enough?"

"Yes," Bogrod said, performing a spell and then said, "it seems everything is in order. Shall I call Mr. Gibbon to come with you or would you like to visit the vault yourself."

"I will go on my own," Narcissa said, and the goblin nodded his head and showed her to the cart. After the rather long cart ride the goblin opened the vault. "I would like some privacy."

"Of course," the goblin nodded, used to this demand. "I will be right here if you should need any assistance. I must warn you that since the contract that you have brought with you said that you were only to be putting something into the vault, the protection the Lestrange use are still in place. I advise you not to touch anything."

Narcissa nodded at the goblin and walked into the vault at her regular pace. However, once she was in the vault and out of the sight of the goblin, she quickly uncovered the sword that she had carried with her, searching for the cup. Sirius had told her where it was supposed to have been located, the information came from what was learned from the book.

Luckily, she found the small cup within seconds of arriving, knowing that she had only a minute before she had to get out of the vault. She cast a floating charm on the sword and guided it to the cup, having been told that the sword was the only thing in the vault that can make contact with the treasure without the protection being activated. The cup slipped down until it rested against the sword hilt. She placed both the sword and the cup into a bag that had an expandable charm on it. The original cup's location was then replaced with a replica Narcissa had in the pocket of her robes. She deposited the fake sword of Gryffindor, in the place Bellatrix had instructed her too.

She walked out of the vault then, noticing that the goblin looked at her curiously as she did so and felt wary. The cup out was out of the vault and now it was on her person. She was going to have to apparate back to the Dark Lord, still having the sword of Gryffindor and Helga Hufflepuff's cup and pray to every known higher being that he wouldn't noticed her deceit

She glanced over to the Black vault, but she knew that Sirius wasn't going to be there, not when Gibbon's was guarding the entrance to the vaults. Narcissa climbed into the cart and felt the coin burn in her pocket, gratefully realizing that Sirius was trying to contact her. She looked at the goblin as she pulled out the coin and was pleased that he wasn't paying attention to her so she glanced at the coin:

_Gibbon to be distracted, meet at the entrance._

Once she got off of the cart, she walked over to Gibbon, "Come on let's leave."

"You've been to the vault?" Gibbon questioned with a frown. "I was supposed to go with you."

"It's already done with, we're leaving," Narcissa said contemptuously and then walked away.

"Excuse me, do you know ze time?" Narcissa could hear someone ask from behind her and she was sure it was the French girl that the oldest Weasley boy was dating.

"There's a clock right there," was Gibbon's answer.

"Zank you, you are so kind to help me."

"Oh well," Gibbon said in an obviously flattered voice. Narcissa realized the girl would delay him a few minutes giving her the opportunity to hand over her loot. She quickly left the bank without looking back.

"Hey," she heard Sirius said to the left of her and she turned to face a man that had to be her cousin even though he didn't look like him at all.

"Here," Narcissa said hastily and handed him the bag with the cup and sword in it.

"You should come with us," Sirius said surprising her. "I know the plan was that you go back … but he might know …"

"I have to go back," Narcissa said before Sirius could even finish. "If I don't go back Lucius would be the one who would have to suffer."

Sirius closed his eyes, obviously biting back his reply and said, "Then get him and get out of there as quickly as you can. I'll pray that scumbag is a better man than he acts like and that he doesn't turn on you."

"He won't," Narcissa said firmly as she looked coldly at Sirius.

"Narcissa …" Sirius's voice softened, but he couldn't finish because the doors of the bank began to open and she could not be seen talking so intimately with a strange man.

"What were you doing?" Narcissa haughtily demanded as she saw that it was Gibbon. "I've been waiting for you."

"Er …" Gibbon said flustered, his face turning slightly red. "Let's just leave, ma'am."

Narcissa gave him a disgusted look, but left with him anyways. They apparated back to Malfoy Manner to find that her home was full of Death Eaters.

**A/N: I'm sorry about missing last week but I just didn't like how I wrote this chapter at first and I had to add more to it before I was ready to post it. Basically it just didn't end in the way that I needed it to for me to go on to the next chapter, but now it's fix and I should be good for the next week. **


	41. Trouble

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-One

Trouble

Sirius was worried about Narcissa. He wasn't sure why his bad feeling was so strong, but he felt it all the same.

"Sirius, I'm sure she's going to be fine," Emmeline said to him.

"Fine?" Sirius muttered, "where she's going nothing can be fine."

"That has been true for a while now," Emmeline pointed out.

"I don't know what to say," Sirius grimaced. "You're right … but I can't help but feel like something is going to happen."

Emmeline sighed and rubbed his arm in comfort, because she knew she couldn't help him any other way. He was right that it was never safe for her to be there and he didn't need platitudes. "We better head back," she sighed and Sirius nodded his head. There was simply nothing else he could do.

They were all the way to the Leaky Cauldron when Bill caught up with them, he was out of breath as if he had run from Gringotts as quickly as possible.

"What is it?" Sirius gasped but Bill shook his head as he grabbed their arms and pulled them to the apparation spot. Once there, they all apparated to Grimmauld Place and entered the house.

"The Goblins," Bill said still gasping for breath, but he forced himself to talk anyway. "They're going to check the vault."

"What?" Sirius exclaimed. "Why?"

"Apparently it's something that they have to do whenever the vault is visited," Bill said. "I overheard Bogrod say something to Gergin to go check."

"If they are supposed to check the vault why didn't the goblin with Narcissa …" Emmeline started to ask but Bill was already shaking his head.

"They wouldn't want to offend the Malfoy family, not when their one of the oldest and most powerful wizarding families," Bill said. "Not to mention her connect to the Black family … there's no way that they would do something like that with her around, but they will still check the vault and they will find out the cup is no longer the real cup."

"But it looks just like the cup," Sirius said weakly, seeming unable to stop himself for saying that.

"They know treasure," Bill said simply. "They might even look at the cup first because they will noticed the sword of Gryffindor that was just put in the vault was a fake."

"Damnit!" Sirius growled punching the wall and pulling out the coin. He had to give Narcissa a warning, but he wasn't sure how much this would help. He had already told her to get out of there as quickly as possible. He then looked at the other two in the room and said, "we need to think of a way to get in and out of Malfoy Manner …"

"Is that even possible?" Emmeline muttered but she could tell by the look in Sirius's eyes that he was going to do it no matter if it was possible or not.

"Just watch this coin," Sirius told her handing the coin over, "I just gave Cissy twenty minutes to get out of there before we are going in to try to help her."

"We know that house elves can get in and out of there," Bill supplied and Sirius nodded his head. "Do you think Kreacher would help us?"

Sirius grimaced, "I'm not sure if it's a good idea. We're getting along better and he would want to help Narcissa … but he still likes Bellatrix … It might be a risk. But you're right, the use of the elves would be our best bet get in and out."

"Then maybe we could use Dobby," Bill suggested with a grim look, remembering that it was in Malfoy Manner that the elf had died.

Sirius was thinking the same thing but he still called out for the elf. "Dobby."

The elf popped into the house moments later. "You is calling Dobby, Sirius Black," the elf asked beaming at Sirius. During the summer, Dobby had visited Harry and was excited when he found out that Sirius was Harry's godfather. Though Dobby was technically a free elf, Sirius could tell that he had bonded himself to Harry and thought of the boy as his master in lots of ways.

"Yes, Dobby, thank you for coming," Sirius said as calmly as he could muster but his nerves were killing him. "I need your help to get into Malfoy Manner and save Narcissa…"

Dobby's expression morphed from excitement to terror in less than a second. "You want Dobby to help Mistress Narcissa?"

Sirius head fell as he just remembered now that Dobby had once belonged to the Malfoy … that he had not been treated well there. "Merlin Dobby, I'm sorry," he sighed and then turned to Bill, "maybe Kreacher would be better …"

"Dobby can do this, sir," Dobby said somewhat weakly but he looked strangely determined at the same time. "Dobby is needing to do this, sir."

"We have to save Lucius too," Sirius said to the elf, who's ears fell and his expression looked even more fearful than it did before.

"Sirius!" Emmeline exclaimed, "Narcissa … she needs help now!"

"What?" Sirius said paling as he looked at the coin that Emmeline was holding and only a single word glowed on it:

_Help_

"We've got to go Dobby!" Sirius exclaimed.

"Wait a second!" Bill shouted at him and Sirius turned to look at him impatiently to find the red head had the Sword of Gryffindor in his hand and was just about to stab Hufflepuff's cup. He watched as the sword descended on the cup and a screech of pain seemed to fill the house. "Take the sword with you."

"What?" Sirius said wondering why he would need the sword but he took it anyways.

"You never know what you will run into … you might meet the snake," Bill shrugged and then looked grim, as if he was trying not to think something bad was going to happen. "You better get out of here."

Sirius nodded, looking at Emmeline, not wanting to leave her but he would have more of a chance not to be caught if he was alone.

"Go," she said, pushing him. "Just get back as soon as possible."

Sirius nodded, turned back to Dobby and said, "Take us someplace that you don't think anyone else will be."

O

Narcissa felt her heart pound in her chest as she read the message from Sirius.

_Goblin will tell about the cup, leave quickly or I'm coming in twenty minutes._

"Cissy," someone called from behind her and she turned to see her sister walking towards her. "Good you're back. I need you're help to find something …"

"I need to talk to Lucius first," Narcissa cut off her sister and Bellatrix raised her eyebrow at that. Narcissa hardly ever interrupted her older sister.

"Very well, we'll find him first," Bellatrix said rolling her eyes in impatience. "But this better not take long."

"You don't have to come if you don't want to take the time," Narcissa pointed out, hoping her sister wouldn't come with her. Sister or not, she knew that Bellatrix was the second most dangerous person for her to be around at the moment.

"No, this manner is like a maze, it would be easier for me to have you with me," Bellatrix shrugged. "Just don't take long with him."

She walked with her sister for five minutes at least before she found Lucius. Unfortunately, he was not alone either. He was with Nott and Rookwood, two of the other Death Eaters that had been arrested during the failed Ministry mission and their status within the Dark Lord's inner circle had fallen, though not as much as Lucius had.

"Lucius, can I speak to you for a second," Narcissa asked when she got closer to him, glad to see that the other two had been ganging up on Lucius and he would want to leave.

"Yes, of course," Lucius said immediately.

"Just give me a minute, Bella," Narcissa said to her sister as she followed Lucius into a different room.

"Thank you," Lucius said with a sigh as she got in the room. "If I had to listen to Nott tell me about the important mission he was just on again I was going to curse him. I don't understand why …"

"Lucius we don't have time for this," Narcissa said hastily. "We have to leave."

"What …? What are you talking about?" Lucius asked a look of trepidation on his face.

"We have to leave," Narcissa repeated. "I can't explain right now. You have to trust me."

"What did you do?" Lucius asked, now pale and yet angry at the same time.

"What I had to do," Narcissa snapped back at him. "Now follow me."

Lucius didn't say anything, realizing that his first thought, that she had some how fail in putting a sword in a vault was wrong. Whatever was done was something a lot worst than that. Her eyes were scared as they told him that nothing but pain and probably worse would be their fate if they didn't escape.

"You will tell me everything when we are in a safer place," Lucius growled, but he had no choice but to follow her lead at this time. He walked over to the picture on the far side of the wall and was about to tell it the password so a passageway would open for them but the door behind them opened.

"Cissy! What have you done?" Bellatrix asked, her eyes bugging out making her look even more insane than she normal looked.

"I don't …" Narcissa tried to act as if she didn't understand what her sister was talking about, but she knew that the mask that had been so painfully in place for the last seven months was cracking. She knew that if she came face to face with the Dark Lord it was all over for her.

"A filthy goblin came here asking to see Rodolphus," Bellatrix continued to say. "He's talking to the Dark Lord right now."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Narcissa said, still trying to look confused.

"We'll see if that's true or not," Bellatrix narrowed her eyes, though she didn't look as insane as she was before but there was a cold angry in the expression now. "We'll wait. I'm sure the Dark Lord will want to see you soon."

Narcissa knew better than try to plead with her sister, Bellatrix first loyalty was to the Dark Lord, and it didn't matter that they were family. She also knew that she couldn't even pull out her wand because as good at dueling as she was, her sister was better. Not to mention Bellatrix seemed to be ready for her to do something like that.

Narcissa looked at Lucius, hoping that he could come up with a plan. He was looking at her, but before either of them could do anything Bellatrix made her move.

"_Vieo Sinus."_

Narcissa knew before she even tried that she would no longer be able to get to her wand. Bellatrix had sewn her and Lucius pockets closed, sealing their wands inside. She gripped onto the coin that had luckily been in her hand and sent the message that she had already put on it.

_Help_

She hoped that the message would work, because it had only been ten minutes and she needed the help as soon as possible.

"Just in case you were thinking of doing something stupid," Bellatrix said. "Though it appears it's already too late for that. I can't believe that you would betray us like this … what were you thinking. I know that it's because this scum," she nodded her head towards Lucius, "has put you in a disgraceful position, but the Dark Lord would have seen your value. You would have been placed in a high position. But you threw all that away! For what?"

Again, Narcissa choose to not answer. She knew that anything she said would just farther enrage his sister, and that would only make things worst for them. Unfortunately, the silence seemed to be doing that as well.

"I can't believe my family! Every single one of you is a disappointment!" Bellatrix growled, her fury coming back. "Every single one of you have turned your back … do you have no faith?"

"I have faith," Lucius answered for Narcissa.

"I was not talking to you!" Bellatrix scream, seeming to lose the little control she had been hanging onto. "CRUCIO!"

"NO!" Narcissa exclaimed as Lucius screamed in pain. "Stop!"

"Tell me what you did!" Bellatrix questioned, the mad glint in her eyes showed her enjoyment. "I can keep this going a long time," she added as Lucius continued to scream. "I know just how long a person can take before their mind breaks."

"I took something," Narcissa answered because she could not stand watching Lucius in pain. It was torture in itself to watch that … as Bellatrix very well knew.

Bellatrix dropped her wand and Lucius slopped to the floor trying to catch his breath. He had been tortured by the Dark Lord himself, but not for as long as Bellatrix had kept the spell on him.

"You … took something," Bellatrix growled and Narcissa knew that her sister understood what she had done. It also looked like Bellatrix's fears were just confirmed. "Give it back to me now!"

"I don't have it," Narcissa said.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix cursed Lucius again, who thrashed on the floor as he screamed.

"Stop! I don't have it!" Narcissa repeated, clawing at her pocket that was sewn shut, but it wouldn't budge … her wand so close and yet useless to her.

"TELL ME WHERE IT IS!" Bellatrix demanded. "He will not last much longer!"

"I don't know!" Narcissa answered, and did the only thing left for her to do to help her husband. She ran at her sister.

"Fool!" Bellatrix cried as she moved her wand to her youngest sister and didn't hesitate to curse her. "CRUCIO!"

Pain like she has never felt before ran through her body. She had no idea that anything could have been worst than when she had been under the same curse after the Dark Lord had return to his body and cursed all of his followers for their disloyalty. But the Dark Lord had not been as enraged as Bellatrix was right now … and Bellatrix was a master of this particular spell. Of course she didn't think of this at the time, the only thought she had was wishing for the pain to stop.

O

Dobby had apparated them into an empty room and Sirius disillusioned himself, though the elf didn't need to. The elf knew how to make it's way through the manner without being seen.

"Can you sense where the Malfoy's are," Sirius asked.

"Dobby is knowing where master is," Dobby nodded his head, his grim expression still firm on his face, he did not want to be back here. "Master and Mistress is in the downstairs study."

"Lead the way," Sirius said, pleased when the elf took him through the secret passageway known by the elves and perhaps the Malfoys themselves. They moved quickly and it seemed like it was only a minute before they could hear screaming coming from in front of them.

"That is Master screaming," Dobby said, feeling the desire to run as quickly as he could to save his old master. It didn't matter that he had been freed. It didn't matter that he had been punished relentlessly by the horrible Malfoy man, Dobby could still remember the need he had to do as his master said. He knew from experience that only his will to help Harry Potter had been strong enough to oppose his master's will. It wasn't quite the same now, especially after he had agreed to work for Dumbledore, but this feeling was never going to fully go away.

"We've got to move faster," Sirius hissed, frustrated that he was actually going to try to save Lucius Malfoy of all people and that he wished the slimy bastard wouldn't get torture. It was all for Narcissa's sake of course, but it still felt wrong.

However, when they heard the next scream, it was definitely female and Sirius felt as if he insides were burning. He was not going to risk his life like this and fail to save his cousin. Not now that his family was finally something to be proud to be a part of. He wasn't going to lose that now.

"Did you really think that was going to work," Sirius heard Bellatrix said, laughing her mad cackle, though it sounded different than what he was use to. "You think you could prevent anyone from being tortured."

He didn't care to try to figure out what the difference meant as Dobby stopped at a wall. He gave Sirius a look that told him that the elf was about to open the door and to be ready. Sirius nodded his head to show that he was ready and suddenly the wall in front of his disappeared.

"Perspicuus Mico!"

He shouted with his eyes closed and his hand covering the house elf's eyes; a bright flash of light filled the room.

Sirius wished he could have used a more offensive spell, but since he didn't know where anyone was he didn't want to hit Narcissa or Lucius. He thought blinding the occupants of the room would be safer for everyone, this way no one would be able to see except himself and Dobby.

When he opened his eyes and released Dobby, the room was still extraordinarily bright, but they could see. On the other hand, the original occupants were desperately rubbing their eyes trying to make themselves see anything.

"Crucio!" Bellatrix shouted, and the curse missed him by inches.

"Get them," he shouted to Dobby and ducked the curse he had expect to be fired at him.

"Sirius! Sirius! You're working with the Order!" Bellatrix started to yell as she pointed her wand at the spot that Narcissa had previously occupied. Narcissa was gingerly moving her way closer to her husband.

"Av …"

"Crucio!" Sirius shouted the first curse he could think of and hit Bellatrix. However, his mind wasn't on torture and more on escape right now, so it didn't keep her down for long.

Bellatrix fired cursed after curse at him and he could do nothing but defend himself.

"Take the Malfoy's and go, Dobby!" he shouted, firing a curse to shield himself.

"Dobby can't be leaving yo …"

"GO!" Sirius shouted and moments later he heard the pop of the elf's departure. He keep fighting, though he knew it was hopeless he was not one to quit. Still his heart sunk when he heard the voice coming from the doorway behind Bellatrix and knew they where about to be joined by a few more Death Eaters.


	42. Sirius Danger

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Two

Sirius Danger

He was livid. Two hours ago he had been given a gift. Something that he longed to have for years. Now a goblin was standing in front of him telling him that something was taken out of the vault. Damn Narcissa Malfoy must have taken something out of the vault. His rage was burning in him before the goblin told him what was stolen, but as soon as the words "Hufflepuff's cup" was said out loud he lost control. He cursed everything in sight, not caring what was in his way.

"Bring the Malfoy's to me now!" he commanded once he had control of himself again. Rodolphus Lestrange had luckily not been killed by the curses he had sent out, and was now racing off.

He sat on his seat and Nagini slithered to him, moving around his shoulder he stroke her head as he thought about what this meant. He didn't know how it was possible, but they had to know about his Horcruxes. There as no other explanation as to why someone would take the cup. He wondered if the Malfoy's had always known about the Horcruxes … perhaps that was why Lucius had allowed his diary to be destroyed. But how, would the Malfoys have learned about about his Horcruxes he could not understand.

He thought of his other Horcruxes, how many of them have been destroyed? It was impossible for them to have known about the locket and diadem, but the ring might be in danger. After all of his Death Eaters known about his heritage. Known that he was a descendent of Slytherin himself, which might lead to the Gaunt house.

"My Lord!" Gibbon said gasping as if he was out of breath and Voldemort glared at him. This man had let that woman steal his cup without lifting a figure. He should torture him. "The Malfoy's are gone … but Sirius Black is here."

"Black?" Voldemort said distracted from his decision to torture the man or not. "They were working for Dumbledore," he mused to himself and everything seemed to make sense now. The old fool would be one to try to figure out everything he could about his enemy. He would hunt down every clue he could and Voldemort knew things where bad. He would have to talk to Sirius Black. He needed to know what the man knew. "Bring him to me."

O

Sirius whole body ached. It had not taken long for him to be defeated once the two extra Death Eaters had shown up and he was paying the price for using the Cruciatus Curse against Bellatrix, because now she was doing the same to him. He wished that he could have held back his scream, but the pain was too much. Once the curse was lifted off of him, he did the only thing that he could think of to show defiance and looked at Bellatrix as if he was bored, as if to say is that all you could do?

"Bellatrix, the Dark Lord wishes to see this filth," Nott said at the doorway.

Sirius could tell that his cousin was by no means done with torturing him, but she wasn't about to disobey her master. Sirius felt his gut drop, he didn't not want to go anywhere near Voldemort but at the same time he thought this might just work out for him. His wand had been stripped from him and then broken by Bellatrix, but no one had checked to see if he had any other weapons, so the Sword of Gryffindor was still in his pocket. He was sure it helped that the pocket had an expandable charm on it and it wasn't obvious that he had the sword.

He cleared his mind and made his face as blank as he could.

"You were never good at Occlumency," Bellatrix taunted him, "the Dark Lord will get whatever information you might have and then I'll be able to have my fun with you."

"You think he'll let you do anything after what just happened," Sirius snorted and was elbowed painfully in the stomach for his trouble. "I don't think Voldemort will be too happy with our family, dear cousin."

He knew it was stupid and he was immediately in pain again, but this was probably the only taunt he would be able to have.

"You're not part of my family!" Bellatrix hissed. "I don't have family!"

Sirius laughed, enraging Bellatrix further, but Nott stopped her from doing anything else to him.

"The Dark Lord wants to see him _now_!"

Only moments later, he was pushed to the ground at the feet of Voldemort. He felt Nott's hands firmly grabbed his shoulder to keep him in place. He looked up at Voldemort, again trying to look as defiant as he could muster. He saw Nagini coil herself in Voldemort's recently vacated seat.

"Sirius Black," Voldemort said in a cold voice, his eyes were piercing and Sirius could tell that Voldemort was furious. "Why have you come here today?"

"I was told you were smart, I should think the answer to that would be obvious," Sirius answered back.

"I would advice to watch your words to me," Voldemort said as his eyes flashed bright red with the flare of rage. "I have already suffered a great disappointment today and have no patience for your cheek."

Sirius gulped and knew that he was pushing what little luck he had left to him. Voldemort was not known for his patience and he would likely be killed if he mouthed off. That might be the better of the options he had to look forward to (seeing as his other option was probably being tortured slowly by Bellatrix and then killed by Nagini) but he didn't want that to happen yet. "I came to get Narcissa … and her husband."

Voldemort could feel the disgust coming off of Sirius when he mentioned Lucius and he realized that it was only the woman that had betrayed him. It didn't matter in the least though, he was going to kill all of the Malfoys.

"And why did you steal from me?" Voldemort asked.

"Dumbledore wanted Hufflepuff's cup, he said it was important to destroy it," Sirius replied.

Voldemort forcefully entered Sirius mind there, seeing if the man in front of him knew about his Horcruxes or if Dumbledore had kept that information to himself. All he got from Sirius was confusion. It was not right, he should be able to get more information than that.

"Dumbledore thought that if you had the sword of Gryffindor, you might want to put it in the vault …" Sirius continued, not wanting to allow Voldemort to concentrate on invading his mind.

"Crabbe and Goyle stole the sword," but even as Voldemort said it, he could imagine what must have really happened.

"Do you really think those two would ever think of stealing the sword," Sirius scoffed. "Do you think that Dumbledore would let it be taken so easily?"

"Crucio," Voldemort said, cursing the man that had been so smug with him. However, it was fact that he was angry with himself for falling for this trap. He should have realized that it was too good to be true. He should have known!

Sirius' body burned even after Voldemort had lifted the curse. It was made clear to him more than anything else how angry Voldemort was after that curse. It was like Voldemort had made sure that shocks of pain would hit him even after the curse was lifted. However, he had gotten what he wanted in a way. Once Nott had realized that Sirius was going to be cursed, he had moved away. Now, the only thing that kept him on the ground was his own pain.

"Has _Dumbledore …"_ Voldemort hissed the headmaster's name out like it was a curse, "asked you to look for anything else? Have you been asked to find other things that belong to me?"

Sirius struggled to get to his knees and he heard the Death Eaters in the room snigger. He didn't pay any attention to them as he continued to move, he could feel Voldemort's eyes on him … he could feel the slimy bastard reaching into his mind again so he turned his mind to a confused mess.

Bellatrix was right when she said he wasn't very good at Occlumency. He had no idea how to do what Narcissa, Draco and Snape are capable of doing, but he did know how to turn off his mind and how to keep it off under strong attempts to break him. His mother had annoying habit of trying to learn every bloody thing he thought or why he always had to pull pranks. He had always been too emotional for this discipline, but he was never one to let his mother beat him, so he had learned a different way to block her. His method made it obvious what he was doing, but it didn't mean it wasn't strong.

"It doesn't matter how strong your defenses are, I will get pass them," Voldemort said in a soft voice. "I will learn the secrets that you're keeping. It's only a matter of time. Why fight it? Your mind will be left in a mess once I'm finished with you."

"So you're not planning on killing me?" Sirius murmured. "I thought that was a given."

"Oh, I am planning on killing you of course, but it won't be quick," Voldemort agreed. "Not unless you tell me what you know."

"Sorry, I've never been known for doing what is easy," Sirius said.

"Very well," Voldemort said indifferently as he looked into Sirius's eyes. "_Legilimency_."

Sirius felt pain again as Voldemort forced himself into his mind again. It only got worse the longer it took and Sirius understood what Voldemort had meant. There was no way that he would be able to continue his shield forever … in fact he was sure that it wouldn't be long before Voldemort broke him. Using all of his strength he forcefully closed his eyes breaking the spell for a few seconds.

"Do you really think …" Voldemort started to say in a humorless laughed.

Sirius pushed himself off the ground, knocking over Voldemort as he did. He ran as fast as he could as he pulling out the sword of Gryffindor from his pocket. He heard screams from behind him, he thought he even heard a bullfrog like voice, but he didn't slow his pace though he felt the sudden urge to look behind him. Nothing matter but getting to the snake right now. He brought the sword down towards the head of the snake and it sliced through the monster easily even though he got a lot of the body as well.

"NOOOOO!"

Sirius turned around, knowing he was going to die, but he knew that at least he had done something to help the rest of his love ones have a real chance to kill Voldemort.

O

"Where's Sirius?" Emmeline demanded when Dobby came back with the Malfoy's but not her boyfriend.

"Sirius is ordering Dobby to go!" Dobby said miserably, hitting his head against the floor in his distress.

"Dobby stop," Narcissa order, and the elf immediately obeyed. "You can still help Sirius. You have to go back for him."

"Yes, Dobby will go back, Dobby will get master Sirius!" the elf said almost excitedly now.

Dobby disappeared.

"You … you're working with blood traitors," Lucius said in disgust as he glared first at Bill and then at Narcissa.

"I believe I am a blood traitor now too, Lucius," she said simply. She then turned to Emmeline and gave the women that she knew Sirius had grown quite close to a guilty look. "I'm sorry …"

"Don't," Emmeline shook her head at her. "It's not your fault …"

"I'm going to need your wand," Bill said coldly to Lucius, his own wand pointed at the man.

"It's sewn into the pocket of his robe," Narcissa said, knowing Lucius would never willingly give his wand over to a member of the Order.

Lucius' eyes widened in pure loathing at his wife for this further betrayal.

Bill didn't like the look. He didn't like what Lucius might do, so he decided to just alleviate the nuance of the slimy wizard. He stunned him.

"What are you doing?" Narcissa exclaimed.

"I'm sorry … but I can't have him awake right now … not when things are so up in the air," Bill said and Narcissa deflated slightly and looked grimly at her husband.

"He was tortured …. I don't know how bad it was for him," Narcissa said sadly.

"Mum should be here soon … she'll help him," Bill tried to be kind, but it was hard to care about Malfoy. The man didn't deserve any sympathy after the things he had done, in Bill's opinion but he held his tongue. Narcissa was a different story. He turned back to look at Emmeline.

"Dobby will bring him back," Bill said gravely and not very convincingly. He was worried about Sirius himself, and he wished that he had gone with Sirius.

Just then Dobby popped back into the room and everyone felt a moment of relief until they realized that he was alone.

"Sirius is not being in the room!" Dobby said miserably again, and he was looking at Narcissa pleadingly. "Dobby is not knowing where Sirius is! Dobby is not being able to sense him."

"He was probably taken to the Dark Lord," Narcissa paled.

"Where is Sirius being?" Dobby asked her but she shook her head.

"I don't know where he was," Narcissa grimaced. "He might been in the conservatory … or Lucius' study … that's the one near the best guest room …"

"What did Dobby mean by sensing Sirius?" Bill asked.

"House elves is being able to sense their masters," Dobby answer.

"Kreacher!" Emmeline said, it was both a command and a realization that the elf would be able to help Sirius. The elf appeared, bowing to them, his eyes focused on Narcissa, before he turned to Emmeline.

"You is calling Kreacher," he croaked.

"Sirius needs your help," Emmeline said and the elf looked uncomfortable. The elf still didn't know what to think of Sirius. Though his master was treating him more kindly, and had helped him complete the last task that master Regulus had given him, he knew his mistress was still angry with him for following Sirius.

"Kreacher, please," Narcissa said and the elf looked at her. She was a proper witch, one that his mistress was proud of and she as asking him to help Sirius. "He just saved my life. Please. Save him."

"Kreacher will be saving him, mistress Narcissa," he bowed.

"He is probably in a room with other wizards and witches," Bill said to the elf, "be careful."

Kreacher nodded, still surprised that the Weasleys had been treating him kindly … seeming to care about him. He apparated to where he knew his master was. Appearing in a room that was full, just as the Weasley had warned, of wizards and witches, one of which was Bellatrix Lestrange. He knew he was going to go against her will. He felt a wave of shame because he knew what his mistress would think if he helped Sirius.

Before he could even think though, he watched a wizard point his wand at his master and he croaked, "Master!"

At the same time he used his magic to blast the wizard away and ran toward his master. He didn't know why his Sirius had a sword, or why Sirius was running at the chair but Kreacher was determined to get to him. The sword swung downwards and wave of power surged the room as someone screamed.

Then his master was turning around, the old defiant look that he remembered seeing on Sirius all the time when he was a boy. It was cold and indifferent, but this time Master Sirius wasn't looking at him. He was looking at the man that had yelled. Kreacher wrapped his arms around his master and saw a flash of silver move in front of him … but at the last moment Sirius shielded him from the deadly thing that had been aimed at the elf's back. Kreacher apparated them both with thoughts of home in his head.


	43. Safety?

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Three

Safety?

Sirius came flying into the room, landing hard on the floor holding the last thing that he had expected to. He looked down at the elf that had just saved his life and couldn't help the grin that spread across his face. The sight of Kreacher a second ago was the best thing he had ever seen in his life and he was sure he would never be able to look at the elf the same again.

"Master is saving Kreacher," the elf said in awe and Sirius let out a bark of laughter.

"Well after you saved me, it the least I could do," Sirius was still laughing but was aware that just like him, Kreacher didn't seemed to be able to look at him with the same loathing. Something had changed between them, even more so than when they had worked together to destroy the locket. He knew that he could trust the elf with anything now.

"SIRIUS!" he heard a yell from downstairs and he only just realized that he was in his own room.

"I'M UPSTAIRS!" Sirius yelled back and then looked at Kreacher. "Why didn't you bring me to where everyone else was."

"Master Sirius is being hurt," Kreacher grimaced. "Kreacher will take care of him."

"Oh," Sirius said surprised, not used to the elf caring about things like that. "I'm okay Kreacher …"

"Master Sirius must rest," Kreacher fretted over him, actually pushing him until he was in his bed. "Kreacher will being coming back with some medicine and food. Master Sirius is always being hungry."

Sirius couldn't deny that so he just let the elf do his thing, he didn't even mind lying back on the bed. His muscles ached and his mind still hammered from whatever it was that Voldemort had done in it.

"SIRIUS!" Emmeline shouted, she had just opened the door and the next thing he knew she had launched herself onto the bed and was holding him tightly to her, "I thought … I was so afraid."

It broke his heart to hear the terror in her voice as she buried her head in his shoulder. He tried to sooth her, but he could tell this wasn't going to be an easy thing and he didn't really blame her. She had lost her fiancé because of in the first war and then the first friend she had made afterward his death had ended up getting killed as well. Sirius hated that he had caused her fear, but couldn't apologize for going as this was something that he had to do.

"I'm just glad you came back," Emmeline sniffed. "And you're not going anywhere without me again."

"I don't think there's going to be many missions after this," Sirius sighed. "He was angrier than I could have imagined, and he knows that we know … he'll be worse now!"

"Bill seemed to think the same thing," Emmeline admitted. "We told everyone what happened …"

"We'll probably have to go to Hogwarts soon." Sirius reasoned. "Voldemort will want to go there."

"Hogwarts? Why do you think that?" Emmeline asked. "Why there?"

"Because if he's anything like he was in the book, he'll want to check to make sure all of his Horcruxes are still intact," Sirius sighed. "He'll want to check the other ones first, but eventually he will come to Hogwarts. No one is going to want him to come inside, but he's not going to let that stop him."

"Bill was saying the same thing," Remus said from the doorway, looking at his friend as if he didn't believe that he was really there.

"When did you get here?" Sirius asked.

"Just a few minutes ago," Remus sighed. "What were you thinking going into Malfoy Manner alone?"

"I was thinking that I had to save my cousin," Sirius answered, he could hear the pain in Remus' voice. That squashed any anger that his friends words could have raised in him. "What else could I have done?"

"I don't know," Remus sighed. "You just know how to make an old werewolf worry."

"Sorry mate," Sirius laughed as Remus smiled weakly at him. "But it was your fault that you became friends with a reckless git like me."

"Too true," Remus smiled wider. "Molly, Arthur, Fred and George have just arrived also. Molly is helping the Malfoys, but they are probably going to have to leave soon. Do you think you can move? We are going to be heading to Hogwarts soon … Bill just sent a patronus to Dumbledore telling him you're safe and asking what we should do next."

"I'm Fine …" Sirius started to say, getting up.

"Master Sirius can not be getting up," Kreacher croaked, handing Sirius a bowl and a vial. "Master needs to be resting."

"He's right Sirius, you don't need to get up right now, we're not leaving yet," Emmeline reasoned and Sirius sighed. He wasn't really used to people caring about him.

"Well, seeing as there's grub to be eaten, I think I can stay in here," Sirius replied.

"Master must not forget to take his medicine," Kreacher said. "Kreacher knows Master does not like potion in his food, so Kreacher is giving him the vial."

"Thanks," Sirius said, remembering clearly the number of meals that had been ruined because of a potion that was put in them. "Can I take it now or do you have to wait until I eat something?"

"Master can take it now," Kreacher said and Sirius immediately downed the potion, making a face as it had tasted horrible.

"Wow, fast working," Sirius sighed in relief as his head stopped pounding and his muscles relaxed slightly. The pain wasn't gone, but it was slowly fading. "Thank you, Kreacher."

"That was friendly," Remus noted as the elf beamed and then left the room. "Have you actually made things better between you two."

"Yeah, I think so," Sirius shrugged. "The little guy just saved my life after all. Beside, I felt something … when he was running towards me … I don't know what it was, but it felt like he accepted me as his master."

"Er … Sirius you were always his master," Remus pointed out but Sirius shook his head.

"I was the only Black … he was forcedly bound to me," Sirius said. "Now he wants to be."

"Who wouldn't want to be bound to you," Emmeline said unthinkingly.

"Wow, Em … are you asking me to marry you?" Sirius asked cheekily.

"What … no …" Emmeline gasped sitting up and staring at him until she noticed the grin. "You are such a jerk."

"I'm just happy that you're terrified at the thought of marrying me," Sirius said.

Emmeline rolled her eyes, she had not been terrified by that idea. It was just way to early in their relationship to think about that. "You know Sirius, that's not something you should joke about," she said. "You might be the one that ends up being terrified."

Sirius looked at her closely and wasn't really sure what could be more terrifying. Realization shown in his eyes when he understood that this conversation had gotten a lot more serious than he had intended it to be.

"Er … maybe I should go," Remus said uncomfortably.

"No!" both Sirius and Emmeline said and Remus suddenly had to try hard not to smile. Sirius decided that the best thing he could do was eat his meal, so he tucked in. He was happy that Emmeline didn't say anything more, she just leaned against him gently.

O

Draco was studying in the library. All this spying was not helping him with his classes. His grades had been dropping a little and despite the fact that he had so much extra stress put on him, he knew that his Dad would be disappointed in him if he did not do well in his classes. Of course, his dad was bound to hate him once he learned the truth about what he had been doing this year. That he had been helping the Order to defeat Voldemort. It didn't matter though, he had spent his whole life trying to prove himself to his dad and that wasn't going to change now.

After he finished all of his homework, he got up, satisfied that he had done a good job and walked out of the library. He contemplated going straight to the Great Hall for dinner, but he would have to wait for it to be served, so he decided to go to the common room instead.

"I wouldn't go in there if I was you," he heard a voice from behind him just before he made the last turn to common room. He turned around to find Theodore Nott hiding in the shadows of a secret passageway and Draco stepped up to join him.

"What are you talking about?" Draco said, raising his eyebrow.

"Most of the Slytherins aren't very happy with you," Theodore informed him. "My father just sent me this, and I'm sure I'm not the only one that got a letter like this."

Draco looked even more confused than before, but he took the letter that Theodore held out to him. His face paled as he read the contents … of how the Dark Lord now knew he was a traitor. How the letter demanded his capture … perhaps even death.

"Why are you showing this to me," Draco asked, as he realized that Theodore had chosen to help him, not capture him like the letter had asked.

"My reason are my own," Theodore shrugged.

"You're putting yourself in danger," Draco started to say.

"Which is only becoming worse the longer I'm near you," Theodore said pointedly and Draco nodded his head and ran down the secret passageway. He would puzzle over the mystery that was Theodore Nott when he had time. Right now, he had to get to a place where none of his Slytherin housemates would find him. He thought it would be best to go to the Headmaster's office, but on the next turn, he realized that he should have gone another way.

"There you are," Goyle said to him. "I've been looking for you."

Draco looked at him warily, but tried to remain calm. Goyle didn't know that he knew about the order yet, he might give him a chance to slip away. Though his chances weren't good since they were the only ones in the corridor. "What do you want," he asked in his normal, indifferent tone. "I'm busy right now."

"Isn't it time to do our job?" Goyle asked, looking confused. Draco had to hand it to Goyle, acting confused was the best way to try trick him. If it wasn't for Nott, he probably never would have known that Goyle was likely to attack him at any moment now, "You usually have us do it all day on the weekend?"

"No, I don't need to go there today," Draco said impatiently. "I'm still working out how to do my next task. You should …" he stopped talking abruptly because Goyle's eyes flashed over his shoulder and a twitch of his lips betrayed the larger boy's plan at the last moment. Draco moved closer to the wall, turning as he went and saw that Crabbe was coming down the corridor now, his wand pointing at him. The curse he had just fired, barely missed Draco. Draco didn't have time to think about that because Goyle was pulling out his own wand, luckily Draco had already been holding his. The unlucky part was that Draco wasn't able to curse Goyle because Crabbe continued to send spells at him. Who would have thought that Crabbe knew that many spells and could get them off that quickly.

He walked backwards, sending his own curses at the two people that had shadowed him for years … even before they had gone to Hogwarts, Crabbe and Goyle had followed him.

"Stupefy!"

This came from a different direction then Draco had expected and he was pleased to see that Crabbe fell to the ground unconscious.

"Stupefy!" Draco shouted himself and stunned Goyle, he then looked to see who had helped him, shocked to see Neville Longbottom frowning at him, "You?"

"You're welcome," Neville said shaking his head, as if he was annoyed that he had just saved Draco.

"Why … why did you help me?" Draco asked.

"I don't like it when someone is outnumbered," Neville answered, grimacing. Draco remembered the few times that he had ganged up on Neville with the two that had just been rendered unconscious. He could tell the other boy was thinking the same but Neville was also confused. "Why were they attacking you … I thought they were your friends."

"Friends …" Draco repeated, as he looked at the boys on the ground, "… is not the right word for us."

"Right," Neville gave him a pitying look. Neville Longbottom was pitying him, Draco Malfoy, and he couldn't help but agree with the clumsy boy. It was sad that the people he had hung around with for nearly ten years turned on him so willingly … that he didn't really feel too sorry about cursing them himself. He had never made any real friends.

"Er … so what happened?" Neville asked, breaking Draco's thoughts.

Draco was not about to tell Neville what happened, but there was something he could say, "You should probably tell Potter that things are going to start happening again."

"You …" Neville started but Draco didn't stop talking.

"He'll understand," he finished and then walked away, and ran to the Headmaster's office.

**A/N: Okay after reading a lot of your reviews I was shocked to see that people didn't realize that Sirius was okay and on his way to safety. I suppose seeing as I knew I wasn't going to have him die it made sense what had happened but apparently it wasn't as clear as I thought. Sorry about that, I probably would have had him go to Grimmauld Place if I knew that I made this another really bad cliffhanger, the second in a row. Just to explain what happened in that room, Bellatrix had thrown her knife at Kreacher (probably in hopes that if the elf died Sirius wouldn't be able to get away). When Sirius see's Kreacher running towards him, a part of him expected the knife from Bellatrix because of reading the book and he raised the sword to shield the elf.  
**


	44. Gathering

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Four

Gathering

Severus Snape arm was burning. He would have apparated to the Dark Lord hours ago, but he had been uncertain if it was the right move. After all, he knew that Narcissa was planning on stealing a Horcrux from the Lestrange vault. He was sure that the only reason why the Dark Lord would want him to return to him so soon was because he knew something had gone wrong.

So instead he had headed to Dumbledore's office, knowing that the Dark Lord allowed him time to answer a summons because he had to protect his cover. When he got into the office he knew his guess was right, because Dumbledore was looking grave and wasn't surprised at all to see him.

"Ah Severus, I thought I would see you," Dumbledore sighed. "You were summon I presume."

"Yes," Snape nodded his head. "What has happened?"

"Voldemort knows about the break in," Dumbledore answered, "Sirius had gone into Malfoy Manner with Dobby the house elf to try to save Narcissa and I presume Lucius Malfoy as well."

Severus rolled his eyes at that. Black had a habit of jumping into things and causing just as much trouble as he did help things. He had to admit that the Malfoy's probably needed help, but having Black show up will only show the Dark Lord the truth of their allegiance. It might even put his own cover under suspicion.

"I don't believe it would be wise of you to be in Voldemort's presents again," Dumbledore said, as if he reading his mind. Severus knew of course that Dumbledore has ways of doing something like that, but that the headmaster had read his expression more than his mind. Which did not make him feel any better as he tried to smooth out his face. "After today, he will be testing all of his Death Eaters to make sure they are loyal to him," Dumbledore went on, as if he didn't notice Snape's displeasure.

"I have proved my loyalty to him before when I had not been," Snape reminded. "I can do it again."

"I fear that this time he will not make it so easy as last time," Dumbledore sighed, and Snape grimaced, wondering how things could be worse than they were the last time, but he knew that the headmaster was right.

"I may not have a choice," Snape pointed out. "If Black's rescue attempt goes wrong."

"We'll see," Dumbledore said looking grave.

They waited in silence as Severus arm still burned. The dark mark seemed to be commanding him to return to it's master but Severus ignored the pain. If he really wasn't going to go back to the Dark Lord, he was going have to make a potion that would prevent the mark from burning him. If the mutt actually was worth anything, the Malfoy's would need the potion as well.

"Should we tell Draco what has happened?" Snape asked but he knew what the headmaster would say before he opened his mouth.

"We will tell Draco when we know more," Dumbledore said, and then again they waited in silence.

Snape didn't like to wait. He had to do plenty of waiting in his time as spy, but it didn't make it any easier. The next message that Dumbledore received was that the Malfoys had been rescued, but Sirius had been left behind. Snape wondered if Dumbledore was going to ask him to try to save Black. He wondered if he would … then he realized he would, not liking it at all, but he would do it. Looking at Dumbledore, he knew that he wouldn't have to worry about that, "You don't want me to go there."

"No, I don't," Dumbledore sighed. "I hope that they will be able to get him out on their own … Bill said they are making plans. It would only make the situation more unlikely to succeed the more people that are sent into the Manner. Especially now that Voldemort knows The Order is involved."

Dumbledore sighed, looking miserable, seeming to take his inability to help hard. "Severus please get all of the other staff members and tell them to come here. I fear that things are going to escalate quickly now, and they must be warned."

Snape nodded his head, sure that Dumbledore was right and made his way to get the other professors.

O

Neville was very confused as he walked to the Gryffindor Tower at a brisk pace. Why would Draco Malfoy of all people have a messaged for Harry? And what did he mean, '_things are going to start happening_'? He wasn't sure, but he felt that he had to listen to what Malfoy said. After all the Slytherin had just been attacked by his friends … body guards … or whatever they are. Of course, Malfoy could be trying to trick him, but he didn't know how that made sense.

"Have you seen Harry?" Neville asked the third years that were talking by the fire, the only people in the common room at the time. They shook their heads and he sighed, as he headed up to his room and hoped that Harry would be there. What he found was both helpful, and awkward. Ron and Hermione were snogging like mad in the middle of the room. He probably would have just backed out of the room on another day, but hesitated right now.

"Oh!" was the embarrass squeak from Hermione as she ducked into Ron's chest.

"Er … have you seen Harry," Neville asked.

"Not in a while," Ron said, giving him a look that clearly said _get out of here._ But when Neville hesitated, looking at him pleadingly Ron sighed. "What is it?"

"I just …" Neville said, now trying to figure out how to say what he needed to. He decided just telling them what happened was the easiest. "On my way back to the common room just now I ran into Malfoy … er … he was being attacked by Crabbe and Goyle …"

"Is Draco alright?" Hermione wanted to know and Neville was shocked to see that she was truly worried about the blonde Slytherin. Not to mention, she had called him Draco and not Malfoy. He looked at Ron before answering, and noticed that even the redhead was concerned. What the hell was going on?

"Yeah … I helped him," he said clearly confused and pleading them for answers.

"Good," Hermione sighed in relief.

"When did you and Malfoy become friends?" Neville had to asked.

"We're not friends," Ron said as if Neville had just offended him, and that normal reaction made Neville feel a lot better. "We're just not enemies anymore."

"Okay … so when did that happened?" Neville asked.

"A little more than a year ago," Hermione answered as she looked at Ron, clearing having a silent conversation. Neville was sure they were deciding whether or not to tell him what was going on and he was relieved when Ron nodded his head. "We read a book …" she started and then told him about what happened when they read about the future and how Malfoy had been there.

"Er … okay," Neville said, still looking a little confused but he just went with it. "Malfoy told me to tell Harry that things are going to start happening."

"I don't like the sound of that," Ron groaned, looking at Hermione with a grimace. "Especially not if Malfoy was attacked by his thugs. Do you think something went wrong with break in."

"Unfortunately, that seems likely," Hermione sighed gravely.

"Break in?" Neville questioned.

"Well, not really a break in, but Mrs. Malfoy did take something out of …. er … someone's vault," Hermione explained. "We really should tell Harry about this. Who knows what the Slytherins will do if they're already attacking Draco."

"We don't know where Harry is," Ron pointed out and then looked over to Harry's trunk. "I wonder if he left the map in there?"

"He might have," Hermione answered as Ron walked over and searched Harry's trunk for the Marauder's Map.

"Yes!" Ron exclaimed, pulled out the map and said, "I solemnly swear I'm up to no good." He then scanned the map until he said, "there he is … he's about to go into the Room of Requirement. Argh! Ginny with him. We better tell Harry what's going on."

"Actually, I can send him a Patronus," Hermione said thoughtfully.

"Why didn't you think of that sooner … we didn't really need the map," Ron grumbled. "And then I wouldn't have to think about Potter with my sister."

Hermione rolled her eyes at Ron, he only ever calls Harry, Potter, when it has something to do with Ginny. She then concentrated on the message she was sending Harry as she cast the Patronus Charm. She smiled as she watched the silver otter float away.

"Ron … just let it go," Hermione said as Ron continued to grimace.

"I'm trying, but it's not easy for me to think of them being together," Ron said making a face again.

"You mean like you and Hermione just were?" Neville said raising an eyebrow at Ron.

"Actually me and Mione were arguing," Ron said.

"It looked like snogging to me," Neville said. "And you were alone in the boys dormitory."

"Well, you know, I can't help it if Hermione attacks me," Ron said grinning.

"RON!" Hermione groaned, blushing as she elbowed him in the stomach.

"She thinks I'm irresistible," he told Neville, still grinning.

"I don't at the moment," Hermione hissed at him, but only seconds later her annoyed expression dropped and she was frowning as she leaned her head against Ron's chest. Ron grinned dropped almost instantaneously and he looked concerned. That's when Neville really started to worry.

"What did Malfoy mean?" he asked them. "Things are going to start to happen? It's worse than the Slytherins becoming even more violent than they already were, isn't it?"

"Yeah, probably," Ron sighed. "The Death Eaters might be coming here."

Neville's eyes widen in fear, and his heart pounded in his chest. The thought of Death Eaters in Hogwarts was terrifying. Worse than terrifying.

"If they do, we're going to have to fight," Ron added, his eyes looking into Neville's eyes as if judging how he would react to that.

"I know," Neville said gravely, of course he knew that. He had been working hard in the DA for the last year and half for this reason. It was just the thought of actually fighting that had his insides boiling. He had gained confidence over the years, but he was sure that he wouldn't be able to defeat Death Eaters. Not when they had so much more experience than he had, "I'll help as much as I can."

"That's all we can ask," Ron said, slapping his back. "Trust us, we know that'll be enough."

"Huh?" Neville asked.

"We know the future, you see," Ron said. "So we know you're brilliant."

Neville blushed, because he could see that Ron was telling him the truth, but he didn't know if he could believe them.

"Just think about it Neville," Hermione said, "_you_ just saved Draco. You didn't know that he was helping us, you just knew that it was the right thing to do. That's important."

"Why are you trying to talk me up," Neville said blushing even more.

"Because you're important," Hermione shrugged. "You give people a lot of courage when you stand up for something you believe in."

Neville laughed, shaking his head as if he couldn't believe what he was hearing, "That's Harry."

"Well yes," Hermione agreed. "But most people don't see Harry as being a normal person. He does impossible things all the time, and Ron and I are known to follow him no matter what. But you …"

"I'm just the stumbling idiot," Neville pointed out. "I'm just average."

"That's your best quality," Ron said.

"That I'm an idiot," Neville said.

"No, that you're average," Ron corrected.

"Er … that doesn't sound much better than being an idiot," Neville pointed out.

"Sorry … I didn't make it sound so good," Ron sighed. "But there's nothing wrong with being average. Heck, I'm average …"

"No you're not," Hermione argued, "and neither is Neville."

"But that's how people see us," Ron said, giving her a look, obviously telling her now is not the time to argue with him. "It's not so bad to be underestimated, as long as you stand up when you're most needed. And you've never had a problem with that Neville. Even back in first year you stood up to us because you thought it was the right thing to do."

"But it wasn't," Neville pointed out. "You were trying to protect the stone …"

"You didn't know that," Ron waved him off. "At the time, pretty much no one was talking to you, except for us but you still stood up to us."

"You weren't going to stop talking to me because of it," Neville pointed out.

"Well I might have but Harry and Hermione wouldn't have," Ron said. "You also joined into a fist fight with Crabbe and Goyle, helping me out of a three against one fight."

"Yeah …" Neville chuckled this time. "I have no idea what I was thinking that day."

"Neither do I, but I was grateful for the help," Ron smiled.

Neville shrugged, he really didn't have a choice in joining that fight that day in their first year. Thinking back, he felt that way about a lot of things he had done over the years, like he didn't have a choice, he just had to do what was right. Like when he tried to warn Harry about Malfoy knowing about Hagrid's dragon, he wanted to help his friend and it didn't matter if it was late at night and he was out of bounds. It didn't matter that he was terrified with every step he took, he keep moving because he was trying to help Harry and Hermione. It had hurt a lot when he heard McGonagall say there wasn't a dragon and Harry was trying to trick Malfoy. He had stood up to the trio that night in first year because he didn't know why they were going out and he thought they were disregarding the rules again.

That had been the only time that he ever doubted Harry. He was sure if he had known what Harry was going to do, he wouldn't have stood in Harry's way. It didn't matter after that. Knowing that Harry had gone through something horrible to save the Philosopher's Stone, he realized that the other boy was a lot like him. Just trying to do what was right. They had other things in common too, like having their parents taken away from them when they were only a year old (though his parents where alive, they weren't really living).

He looked at Ron and Hermione, who seemed to be giving him time to take in all that they were saying to him and he felt that he was starting to get it. He wasn't the most talented person, he wasn't the smartest, he wasn't the bravest. But he knew no matter what was coming soon, he was going to stand tall and face it. And he had a feeling that Ron was right, and people would take courage from him. He, after all, felt braver whenever Harry did the same.

**A/N: To be honest I have no idea where this Neville part came from or why I felt the need to bolster his spirits, but it seems like I'm going to have to give him something important to do after a talking up like that. Now I just have to think up what that is, seeing as it can't be killing Nagini since Sirius already did that. **


	45. Informing Everyone

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Five

Informing Everyone

"Are you sure you'll be okay," Sirius said grimacing as he looked at his cousin.

"For the last time, I can handle him," Narcissa answered with an impatient look. "He deserves to know what happened …"

"Hmph," Sirius grunted his disagreement, in his opinion the fact that Lucius Malfoy was there and safe was more than what he deserved.

"The room is charmed so that he won't be able to leave, no matter what happens," she pointed out yet again, but Sirius still wasn't happy. "Siri … I need to talk to him."

Sirius bowed his head at the obvious pleading sound in her voice. She must really need to talk to him if she is being that open with her emotions. "I'll be right here, if that git does anything … don't give me that look … I don't trust him so I will be staying here."

"You are supposed to go to Hogwarts to meet with the others," Narcissa pointed out.

"Well I'm just going to have to be late for that," Sirius said stubbornly and she knew there was no point in arguing with him. "Remus will tell Dumbledore why I choose to stay … he'll understand. Besides, aren't you planning on going to Hogwarts too?"

The thought of going to Hogwarts now, having heard how sure several people were that there was going to be a battle, wasn't on the top of the list of things she wanted to do. She would be a target for all Death Eaters. But Sirius was right. She had to go, because that was where Draco was. He was just as much a target as she was.

"Yes I am," she answered. "Now let me talk to my husband."

Sirius moved slowly out of her way, not looking happy at all. She wasn't happy herself. She knew she had a lot to explain to Lucius and he wasn't going to like hearing any of it. As soon as she walked into the room Lucius' eyes were on her, bulging with their anger.

"You should leave now," Lucius said in a cold anger she knew he reserved only for those he deemed lacking any value. She could see that he was bound to his chair, though he didn't seemed to be uncomfortable. "There is nothing you could say to me …"

"Draco," she said the one word she thought would cause a still furious Lucius to close his mouth and listen to her. "He would have been killed if I had not acted the way that I have," she added, knowing now was not the time to tell Lucius the true reason why Draco would be in such danger. That was between Lucius and Draco and she knew only Draco could convince him that it was the right move for all of them. Although, she wasn't sure if Lucius would ever agree with them.

"You sound certain of that," Lucius said, shrewdly noting that she had not told him all she knew.

"I am," she agreed, there was no point in denying that now. "You know that I could never let anything happen to him. I've tried my hardest to keep you safe as well."

Lucius gave an hollow, humorless laugh at that. "You made me an enemy to the Dark Lord, there is nothing that is more life threatening than that. Or are you actually telling me you believe the Mudblood lovers and Blood traitors are going to win?"

"That is the only way that our family will make it out of this war," Narcissa admitted.

"You really are a Blood traitor now," Lucius said appalled, "And Draco is as well."

"That will depend on how the coming battle ends," Narcissa turned from him, not being able to stand the look that he was giving her now. "I must go now …"

"You're going to fight!" Lucius said shocked, but it was the note of concern in his voice that made her turn around. She could still see he was outraged, but the concern hadn't only been in his voice.

"Draco is there … I told you that I can't let anything happen to him," she answered him and before she left the room she could see that his anger was warring with his fear for his family's safety.

Even after what he viewed as the worst betrayal imaginable, she knew that he was still wanted them to be safe. She wasn't sure how things were going to be if she and Draco made it through this war and the Dark Lord was defeated, but at least she knew that Lucius cared.

O

"Albus, what is this about?" Aurora Sinistra asked taking in the grim expression on the Headmaster's face and also noticing that there were far more people in the room than there should be. People that would not normally be at Hogwarts at this time of night. She looked from the gathering of most of the Weasleys, to Remus Lupin, to Alastor Moody and Kingsley Shacklebolt … clearly something really bad was about to be announced.

"We are still waiting for everyone to arrive," Dumbledore answered her calmly and she nodded her head and went to sit next to Filius Flitwick and Pomona Sprout, who seemed to be just as curious and worried as she was. More of the Hogwarts staff started to file into the room, but so did more visitors. What was most surprising, was when Harry Potter, Hermione Granger, Ron and Ginny Weasley, and Neville Longbottom walked into the room. However, that was nothing to the shock that went through half of the room when Draco Malfoy closely followed them.

Seeming to anticipate their concerns, Dumbledore raised his hand and said, "I know that you most of you are confused about why I have called you hear today, so I shall explain. As you all know I have been most prominent in the efforts to prevent Voldemort …"

Several people gasped at the name and seemed to realize what this meeting was going to be about. Dumbledore however, didn't pause in his speech, " … from rising to power. Recently matters have progressed and it seems very likely that Voldemort will come here in the near future …"

"No …" someone gasped in horror.

"How do you know this?" Filius squeaked his question. It was clear that he wasn't questioning Dumbledore's information but that he wanted more details.

"We have recently dealt Voldemort a heavy blow … one that has brought him remarkably close to being defeated," Dumbledore said and noticed the shocked expression spread across the faces of his staff members and even some of the Oder members looked surprised.

"However, I fear that because of that blow, he is likely to come here for several reason, though there are two main reasons. First of all, there is something in Hogwarts which he would want to check on. And second, with Harry and myself here … it's the ideal place for him to gather his forces."

Dumbledore sighed, "I do wish that I could go somewhere else so that our students would be left out of the fight, but unfortunately he will come here no matter what I will do. I am asking you all to help me protect Hogwarts and those in it form the danger that is coming to us."

"We will do our best," Filius answered, his voice still squeaked with his obvious fear but he was determined to help and Dumbledore was filled with pride that the rest of his professors nodded their head or looked just as determined as the tiny charms professor.

"Is there any way to get the students to safety?" Pomona asked.

"As of right now, there are some people going to the parents of our students to either join our efforts or get their children to safety," Dumbledore said. His eyes were grave, "Unfortunately I have been informed that there are an alarming amount of Death Eaters or people that are suspected to be sympathizing with Voldemort already in Hogsmeade. If we tried to empty the school, I fear what might happen to the students."

This issue is something he had thought of for most of the time that he was preparing for the coming battle. It was true in the book most of the younger students had been evacuated and he was sure that they were safe. However, he was sure that Voldemort would approach the problem of getting into Hogwarts different in their reality. For one thing, he was there. Voldemort would not be as quick to rush into the battle. He would make plans for the best means of attack. Voldemort would also know that he would not want any of his students to be hurt if it could be prevented, which in turn might mean they would be targeted. No, he could not let them be evacuated if there was any chance of that happening.

"How will the parents be able to get their children or join us if there are Death Eaters watching the castle?" Filius asked. "In our last meeting you mentioned that the Ministry has likely been infiltrated and our communication is probably being monitored."

"Thanks to Miss Granger," Dumbledore said, nodding his head at Hermione with a proud smile (she of course blushed at the recognition by Dumbledore), "there are several former students that have ways of making contact to a certain group of people inside of our school without being detected by anyone. Would you care to explain, Miss Granger."

"Er …" Hermione said nervously when everyone turned to look at her. Though it was quite terrifying, she pushed her nerves aside as she pulled out her DA coin and explained how she first made them as a way to communicate with those in Dumbledore's Army about meetings. None of the professors seemed to be surprised to hear that a group of students had rebelled against Umbridge and her reign at Hogwarts. Hermione suspected that meant that they had all heard about it before.

"After Mrs. Weasley pointed out that the parents would want to know what was going on, Fred and George volunteered to get Angelina, Alicia, and Lee to help them contact the parents," Hermione continued with her explanation now on the current situation.

"Knowing that this had a potential of being dangerous, we insisted they go in groups of two. With the help of Oliver Wood, Penelope Clearwater and Roger Davies, there were four groups of people trying to reach as many parents as they can. Remus gave us a list of students that he remembered that are still here, but it would be helpful if we have the more complete list in hopes we can contact everyone."

"It would also be advisable if we have someone coordinate with Miss Granger so that we can notify any student who's parent come," Dumbledore added. "Though, after we finish here, I am planning on addressing all the other students and staff. Now, I need every person that is willing to help raise the defenses of Hogwarts."

"Albus, are you going to inform parents of the Slytherin students about what is going on as well," Septima Vector, having been a Slytherin herself she raised this concern.

"Unfortunately that would be inadvisable," Severus Snape answered before Dumbledore could. "Though I can list several students that are either neutral or would actually be on our side, it is harder for us to predict how their parents would react."

"The most important part of this plan is that Voldemort does not know what we are trying to do?" Dumbledore added taking a heavy breath as if he wished this wasn't the case. "It would not only put the parents that we are trying to warn in danger, but it might also be detrimental to our defense …"

"But surely Albus …" Vector tried to further argue.

"Crabbe and Goyle have already shown that the Dark Lord has ways to get messages inside of the castle quickly," Snape said and then he looked at Draco. "They have already tried to attack Malfoy. I fear what else they might do if they are not removed from the rest of the students."

"They attacked …?" Vector started looking as shocked as the majority of the other professors. "Why would they attack you Mr. Malfoy?"

"Mr. Malfoy has been helping us with great risk to his safety," Dumbledore sighed. "We must hurry to get the protection wards up and inform the students what will and is currently happening."

O

When three fourths of the student body had gathered in the Great Hall, Dumbledore raised his hand to silent everyone. He looked regretfully at the Slytherin table, the hall felt strangely lonely without having all of the houses represented. However, he had agreed with Severus that it would be too dangerous to notify the Slytherins after the attack against Draco. If they had already turned on their own housemate, there was no telling what they would do. Therefore, he had allowed Severus to talk to all of the Slytherins in their Common Room, where they were required to remain for the time being.

He had waited until Severus came back to the Great Hall, giving him a curt nod showing that his task was accomplished. The Slytherin entrance was locked from the outside, the students would be safe as well as isolated from the rest of the school.

It was then that he noticed Theodore Nott followed Severus until they had reach the area where Draco was seated. Theodore stopped next to his dorm-mate and silently sat beside him.

"Hogwarts is in danger," Dumbledore announced as soon as the Great Hall quieted. With those words there was no sound to be heard. The silence was palatable, every student gave the Head Master their full attention.

"A great number of Death Eaters and supporters of Voldemort are outside the castle's barriers as we speak," he paused remembering Sprout warning him of the increase of Voldemort's army over the last hour, "For your safety we are going to take all of you to Transfiguration classroom …"

"But that's not big enough for all of us," one of the students shouted and a panicked muttering of agreement went through the students.

"It is not known as the Transfiguration room simply because that is the course taught there," Dumbledore said calmly. "I assure you it will be able to accommodate all of you."

"Is there going to be a battle … here?" Michael Connor asked.

"Unfortunately, I fear there will be," Dumbledore answered gravely.

"What if we want to stay, and help?" Neville asked.

"Those of you that are of age will be allowed to stay if you wish," Dumbledore answered softly. "Though, I do ask that you consider your decision carefully. Going into a battle or war should never be taken lightly."

Neville grimaced at that, he was not of age, did that mean he would have to go into hiding. He looked at Harry, knowing that no matter how old his friend was he was going to stay. Would he be allowed to do the same thing?

"We are also trying to contact as many of your parents as we are able to," Dumbledore went on. "If you're parents come and they allow you to stay even though you are underage you will be allowed to join the battle as well. Though that decision will rest on your parents.

"Prefects, please lead your house to the Transfiguration classroom. Those students that belong to Dumbledore's Amry, please come see me now," Dumbledore said, smiling proudly.

All of the students got up at once, but as the houses were lead away, several people remained where they were, either because they had decided to stay and fight or because they were part of the DA.

"I realize that most of you have become of age, put there are a few of you that have not," Dumbledore said as he looked at Neville, Luna, Ernie, Justin, Hannah, Anthony, Colin and Denis. "Those of you who have not, I am looking to you to set an example to all of the other students. From what I have heard from Harry, I know that you are all capable of handling yourself in this situation."

Every single person mentioned looked pleased by the praise from the Headmaster though thoroughly disappointed. They had been part of the DA in hopes of being able to help in the fight. Now instead of defending their school, they were being put into safety.

"I know this might not be what you were expecting but it is an important job," Dumbledore went on. "I am going to be setting up the best protection I can surrounding the Transfiguration room, but you will be our last defense should they not prove strong enough."

No one made to protest as they left the Great Hall. The members of the DA that were too young to fight were slightly mollified by what Dumbledore said and his faith in them. Perhaps this was not what they had planned or trained for but they were determined not to disappoint their Headmaster.

Neville looked back at his friends as he walked away, wondering if the pep talk that Ron and Hermione had given him meant anything since he was to be hidden away anyways. Ron gave him a look, nodding his head, and he felt that if he did nothing more than keep his fellow students calm (as Dumbledore was asking the DA to do), he would be helping the side of light.


	46. Before Battle

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Six

Before Battle

He was still in shock.

He couldn't believe that had just happened. He had lost another of his anchors against death … he was closer to being mortal. What was worse was he had no idea how close to mortality he was. He had had a sickening feeling that Dumbledore and his lackeys were going after them. Dumbledore was no fool, not when it came to making moves. To go after his Horcrux that in the Lestrange vault Dumbledore must have known that it might result in him being informed. Dumbledore would have tried to destroy as many of his other Horcruxes if he could. He had to check on all of Horcruxes immediately.

He looked at the chair where his snake, Nagini, had been killed. She had been a faithful servant, one that he had trusted more than any of his human servants and he was furious that she had been killed. He was even angrier that he didn't kill that sorry excuse for a human that had killed her. Then again, he had charged Bellatrix to kill both Sirius Black and Narcissa Malfoy. Making it clear that she would have no place in his hierarchy until she had accomplished that task. He knew that she would work quickly to make sure he didn't lose faith in her.

He had put Nott in charge of organizing everyone, getting all of his Death Eaters and the others who allied themselves with him. Nott had always been good at doing something like this, but he couldn't help but think of his other lieutenants that had let him down lately. This is why he never put his trust in people, they will always fall short of what he expected of them. He was going to have to put the fear of the Dark Lord back into his Death Eaters to make them know that they could not fail him anymore.

It probably was a good idea that he was going to check on his Horcruxes because the way he was feeling he probably would kill more of his followers than he could afford at the moment. As it was, he needed everyone they could get so that they would be able to outnumber Dumbledore's forces. Perhaps he was not too pleased with his Death Eaters and how they disappointed him lately, but at least they could be numbers in his army. Really, he had to get out of there, his thoughts were starting to make him angrier, more frustrated, and impatient to see just how far Dumbledore had struck against him.

O

"You know I didn't really expected you to come here," Draco said to Theodore after they were told where they would have to go if and when the fighting started. "I didn't think you would want to fight."

"I didn't," Theodore agreed with that. "I would have much preferred to stay anonymous in all this so I would have a high standing no matter who won."

Draco smiled, he didn't blame if fellow Slytherin for that at all. He wouldn't mind it so much if he didn't have to be in this fight either.

"It's your fault you know," Theodore went on. "If I had not helped you, I would have been able to stay with the others."

"First of all, I didn't ask you to help me," Draco reminded the other boy.

"No … I made up my mind to help you on my own," Theodore agreed.

"Why?" Draco asked.

Theodore smiled this time. "I'm not really sure myself. Perhaps it's because I have come to the same conclusion as you did."

"Which is?" Draco asked.

"That if the Dark Lord won, it would not make our community better," Theodore said. "There doesn't seemed to be much job security and you have to constantly prove yourself to one man that might change his favor as soon as someone else does better than you."

"So you just helped me for job security," Draco questioned, raising an eyebrow in disbelief.

"Of course not," Theodore said. "Honestly, I would never make a good Death Eater like my father wants me to be. I don't see that Muggle borns are any different than the rest of us. I don't think I could kill someone just because they weren't born a pure blood … but I would have to if I wanted to get anywhere in the world under the Dark Lord's reign."

"I couldn't do that either," Draco agreed.

"As to why I came here to join the fight," Theodore sighed. "Some people were already getting suspicions that someone warned you. Cabble and Goyle made it clear that you already knew what was happening when they tried to attack you."

"So you come out here because you didn't want them to figure out it was you," Draco nodded his head.

"Yes," Theodore agreed. "I figured it was slightly better to be here than in a common room full of people that didn't like me much."

"Daphne probably would have tried to help you out," Draco said. "She's always been outspoken about her protest against the treatment of Muggle borns."

"Perhaps," Theodore allowed. "But all that would have done was cause an inter house fight. I figured that it would help keep the tension in the house lower if I just left. Anyone with half a brain would probably figure out that it was me that warned you."

"Then it might take them awhile for anyone to say anything about it," Draco said. "The people that are actually looking for you aren't the smartest and the other might not say anything until they have to."

"You might be right," Theodore smirked. "Maybe I over reacted a little. Maybe a part of me actually wanted to be here … see how this will all end."

"You're going to be a target as soon as someone recognizes you," Draco pointed out.

Theodore frowned, thinking of his father, knowing that he would actually be in the most danger from him. "I was actually thinking of transfiguring myself so that I wouldn't be easy to recognized."

"That's a good idea," Draco said thoughtfully, he should do the same.

"You know I've tried to figure something out for a while now, and just haven't been able to put my finger on it," Theodore said.

"What's that?" Draco asked.

"What happened to you?" Theodore asked. "You had such a dramatic change recently, something must have happened."

"That's true," Draco said, looking thoughtful. As much as he was beginning to like Theodore now, he wasn't about to tell him about the book. So, he told him what the book had done to him to make him switch sides. "I had my eyes opened. For so long I just believed whatever my dad said and I wanted to prove myself to him that … I don't know, that I was capable of anything he wanted me to do. I didn't really want to see the truth about where the war was leading us or about who I would have to be to remain in good standing. And I'm not that person … I don't want to be that person."

"That makes sense," Theodore said giving Draco a look that said that he also knew there was something else that happened, that something had to have led Draco to this realization, but he wasn't going to ask anymore questions. They continued to talk because there was nothing else that they could do until the battle started.

O

Harry wasn't sure what he wanted more, the Death Eaters to start already or for them to wait in hopes that they would get more people to help them. He was sitting near Ron and Hermione but not close enough to talk to them. He could tell that they wanted to be with each other and Hermione was working to organize incoming information and parents. He didn't really feel like talking right now anyway, as the nerves in the pit of his stomach seemed to bubbled up. Waiting had never been his strong suit; it was always better for him to be in the thick of things and let his instincts take over.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked him as she sat next to him.

He looked at her with a weak smile, "yeah."

"You'll have to do better than that to make me believe you," Ginny said.

"I know, maybe I just don't want to convince you," Harry said.

"So then I gave you enough time to mope by yourself?" Ginny asked and at Harry's offended expression she laughed, "You always prefer to be alone when you get news like this."

"Yeah … I do, don't I," Harry sighed, with a smile as he wrapped his arms around her and pulling her closer to him. "But I think I got through my mopiness."

"It's hard to believe that we were having a nice day before all of this happened," Ginny said leaning into him more.

"Yeah," Harry agreed, his voice was distant.

"You wish I was in the other room don't you," Ginny said. "Nice and safe."

"Would you hate me if I said yes?" Harry asked.

"You know I would never hate you," Ginny sighed. "I just wouldn't be happy. Even though I know that you only want me there because you can't stand the thought that I might get hurt."

"So we don't really need to have this conversation at all," Harry said shaking his head. "We both know each others' lines. I'm just wondering how you convinced your mum to let you stay."

"The book did most of it," Ginny admitted. "And I told her that I couldn't take it if I sat in safety and one of my family members died." She looked to where most of her family was talking. "She can actually understand that feeling better than I ever want to because of my uncles."

"Are you worried about them," Harry asked, looking over at the Weasleys too, "About what might happen next?"

Ginny nodded her head, unable to say anything about that. "We're all worried. That's why George wouldn't leave Fred's side even though if they had split up they might have been able to get to more people. He's not about to let him out of his sight."

"I'm surprise your mum did," Harry said.

"I'm a little surprised myself," Ginny said. "Maybe she's hoping that they won't come in time for the battle."

"I wouldn't put that past her," Harry actually smiled. "You know, I was thinking that next time I'm suffering through a fit of mopiness, you don't have to give me time."

"You're actually allowing me to talk to you when you're your moodiest," Ginny gasped in exasperation and Harry rolled his eyes. "Call the Prophet, that's real news!"

"Oh shut it," he rolled his eyes again, "Maybe it would be better if I was left alone."

"You know you'd be terrible lonely if I were to leave you to your thoughts," Ginny said.

Harry chose not to say anything; he just held her closer to him. He didn't really want to talk, but he did feel better having her near him.

O

"… and everyone has now gathered here except the few people in the Ministry making sure that no one finds out about what is going on," Nott reported.

"And the Hogsmeade villagers?" Voldemort asked in a cold detached voice.

"There didn't seemed to be many Villagers left," Nott admitted. "Those that were we've locked in the Three Broomstick's basement … I was not sure what you wanted to do with them."

"Leave them there," Voldemort said carelessly. "You may leave, but tell everyone to be prepared, we will move into action soon."

"Yes, my Lord," Nott bowed and then quickly left the room. He must have been able to since the mood that Voldemort was in, because there was quite a bit of fear in his eyes as he went.

Each and every hiding place that had held his Horcruxes had been infiltrated. Now he came back to find that Dumbledore had put up every protective ward he could over the school. Surely, he had likely taken in the villagers of Hogsmeade and bolstered his ranks. Voldemort did not like that at all.

As it was, there was only one of his Horcruxes that he wasn't sure had been found or not. The one Horcrux that was inside the castle that Dumbledore was guarding so well. Was that just because the old fool cared about the children inside the halls of Hogwarts, or was it because he knew about the Horcrux that lay within the castle? He must know, and it was time that he made sure the old fool never got in his way again.


	47. The Beginning

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Seven

The Beginning

It started without warning … and a bang as one would expect.

The castle would shake with the force of the multiple attacks on it. Those inside either quickly raised their wands in preparation for the enemy or made their way to where they were supposed to be. The tension before the fight morphine into fear and adrenaline. There was no more need to think or worry … it was now time to act.

The problem was, the enemy wasn't coming. After half an hour of attacks still no one broke the protection. Which should have been a good thing, but it made everyone nervous again … made the fear come back with a greater force.

"Albus? Should it be this difficult for them?" McGonagall asked.

"They are not trying to get through our protections," Dumbledore answered, his eyes narrowed as he tried to think ahead … tried to figure out what Voldemort was planning. "They are using the weakest curse they can to make as much noise as possible. I'm not sure if it's a diversion or just a way to keep us on edge, but I'm sure this is only the first step of Tom's plan."

"Do you think he's trying the passageways?" McGonagall asked.

Dumbledore looked down at one of his magical instruments. "No one has enter any of the passageways as of yet, but I would imagine they are trying. It's impossible to believe that they haven't learned of the passageways and know that they are the easiest ways of entering. Even if they would be guarded."

"I need to talk with Alastor," he went on thoughtfully, it always helped him when he brainstormed with the old aruro and he knew that Voldemort was up to something.

"Ah, Albus, I've been expecting you," Moody said as he kept his normal eye on the line of Death Eaters firing at the front doors of the castle as his magical kept moving, looking for other points of attacks.

"What did you see?" Dumbledore asked.

"For one things, none of these so call Death Eaters are Voldemort's main followers," Moody said nodding his head at the people firing the curses.

"I see," Dumbledore grimaced. "What else?"

"I can't find any of Voldemort's main followers or Voldemort himself," Moody said. "He is planning on coming in by other means."

"The passageways?" Dumbledore questioned but Moody was already shaking his head.

"I don't think so," Moody said. "He's going to want to attack us in a way that we're not expecting. I need to go to the Astronomy tower … it's the only way I'll be able to see the whole castle and maybe be able to pick him up before they break our protection."

"Go. And take Aurora with you," Dumbledore said. "It is her tower and no one should be alone now."

Moody grimaced, but nodded. "I'll send you an patronus if I find anything."

"Thanks Alastor," Dumbledore clapped his old friend on his back before he turned his gaze to the front line of Voldemort's army. It was nearly an hour later, and several time he had to reassure people that things were still okay, by the time that the Patronus showed up.

"There is a group making it's way through the sewer," the Patronus said in Moody's voice. "They're too far for me to tell but there seems to be about ten of them."

Dumbledore frowned as he thought quickly. Sewer? It was almost immediately that his mind when to the Chamber of Secrets … it was in the sewers and Tom Riddle would know that area better than anyone. He was sure that Riddle would have tried to figure out as much as he could about that area before releasing the monster within.

"Kingleys, come with me," Dumbledore said and walked briskly, calling a few more people to follow him until him found Harry.

"… so I was just telling Hermione that …" Ron was saying to Harry before the boy in question turned to see Dumbledore standing there with his normal twinkling in his eyes.

"Sir?" Harry questioned.

"Harry, I was wondering if I could trouble you for a memory?" Dumbledore asked and the boy continued to look confused he went on. "It had come to my attention that Voldemort might be trying to get into the castle via the Chamber of Secrets … and seeing as you are the only person that …"

"I can't speak Parslemouth anymore," Harry pointed out.

"I know," Dumbledore said, "however, you do still have the memory of the time that you had opened the Chamber."

"Of course," Harry blushed slightly. "Er … how am I supposed to give you my memory?"

"All I need you to do is remembered opening the Chamber," Dumbledore said, "I will do the rest. Just nod your head when the memory is clear in your mind."

Harry closed his eyes as he remembered that day, remembered trying to find the clue that would lead him to the Chamber, finding the metal snake on the sink and he remembered trying and then speaking parsletongue. He nodded his head and then he felt the strangle tickling sensation as the memories of that day dulled. When it was done he grimaced as he opened his eyes.

"Yes, it is strange experience the first time, but I promise to returned the memory to you," Dumbledore said. "Be prepared, if we don't get there in time things might escalate quickly."

As Harry, and those with him, nodded their head Dumbledore moved on, quickly making his way to the Chamber, with those that he had asked to come with him closely following behind. This time as they ran he explained what he wanted to do, and if they are too late, how they should react from there on.

"A Fawkes, thank you," Dumbledore said smiling at his Phoenix that had brought him his pensieve as he had asked. "Kingsley, you need to keep eyes on the Chamber as I travel through Harry's memories."

"Of course," Kingsley said, going into the bathroom along with the seven others with him and Dumbledore had confidence that he could handle anything that might happen. He then turned to the pensieve, and knowing the pronunciation was key, he immersed himself into the memory.

He actually wished that he could have taken his time to go over this memory as it was interesting to see how Harry thought through this problem in a high pressure situation. Instead he could only to watch once and listened closely as Harry hissed the words that would open the Chamber. He committed the word to his own memory and took himself out of Harry's. When he entered the bathroom everyone inside looked at him, though their wands were pointing at the sink. He walked over to the proper tap, having been in here before to examine what Harry had told him four years ago was the entrance to the Chamber. He said the words and just how it did in Harry's memories that sink transformed into a the entrance.

As it finally got into place they were voices coming up through the pipes, traveling from the depths. Dumbledore looked at the others raising his wand and waited as the others in the room did the same. Not making a sound until everyone was reading and he said "now."

Three of the people there fired reducto curses, the curse's lights bouncing off of the walls, causing damage as they went down the tunnel. If this worked properly, it would make it seem like this passageway was not useable. The next two people fired a curse that would repel anyone that would want to come up this way. When that was done, Dumbledore put a strong protection spell just in case the other spells didn't work. He also put a spell that would tell him if anyone was trying to make their way through this passageway if even his protection spell had failed.

"I need you to give this to Alastor." Dumbledore said as he wrote a note and then turned to Fawkes. The Phoenix trilled and the disappeared to do it's task. He then looked at Kingsley, "hopefully that will be enough, but it might be a good idea to have someone around here just in case. Do you know of anyone we can spare?"

Kingsley looked thoughtful for a second before he said, "it might be best if it's one of the students. I don't like the though of moving any of our numbers but it would effect us less if it's a sixth or seventh year."

"Very well, I think I'll have Miss Bones and Mister Finch-Fletchly come here," Dumbledore nodded.

O

"What the bloody hell is taking so long?" Ron asked a few hours later, there was still the constant banging of courses against the shield of Hogwarts, but nothing else was happening. He was sitting next to Harry, his eyes on Hermione as she worked with others dealing with the incoming parents and a few of the students leaving.

"Something tells me it will be awhile," Harry sighed, he was looking restless. "Usually when I'm this nervous I'm in the middle of a fight," he confessed to Ron.

"Yeah … well that's not always true for me," Ron pointed out. "You tend to run off by yourself and me and Mione are left to worry."

"Sorry," Harry sighed. "I never plan it that way."

"Yeah I know," Ron said, "that's why we always forgive you."

"I thought it was because you care about me," Harry pouted and Ron pushed his friend away, actually managing to smile.

"I'm happy at least she's doing something important," Ron said, nodding his head at Hermione. "You know she would have been worst than both of us put together if she was sitting here with us. And then Ginny would be here too, instead of helping Mione pass the message to the DA members in the Transfiguration classroom. Merlin she would have been annoying …"

"Hey!" Harry defending his girlfriend.

"Just because you get to snog her doesn't mean she can't be annoying," Ron pointed out to his friend.

"Did you actually admit that I snog your little sister," Harry said in a mock gasp, "That's a first."

"Hey, I'd do anything to win an argument," Ron shrugged.

"You know I was surprised when Neville's Grandmother got here," Harry said, changing the subject and Ron didn't seemed to mind that at all. "I thought for sure that he would go out of the Transfiguration classroom after that. His grandmother seemed proud of him and would have let him join the fight …"

"Yeah, well, I don't think it's such a bad thing that he's there … that both the Longbottoms are there," Ron shrugged. "In all the chaos that's going on in there, they'll need someone to look after them."

Harry looked at his friend with a raised eyebrow. "Is something wrong?"

"Don't know really," Ron shrugged, "it just feels like things are going to get crazy here soon and it's probably a good think to have some dependable people there."

"You might have a point," Harry sighed.

"Harry, Ron, come over here," Arthur said to the two boys who immediately got up and went over to the other wizards and witches were standing. "I just got word from Dumbledore that something interesting is going outside Hogwarts walls. The Death Eaters are about to stage another attack so we'll all need to be on guard."

"Do you think it will be real this time?" Ron asked his dad.

"We have to take everything that he does seriously, Ron," Arthur sighed.

"Yeah, I know … I was just worried about another diversion," Ron said. "If you have to take every threat seriously, your defensive are eventually going to crack."

Arthur gave his son a grave and yet proud smile, "unfortunately we don't really have a choice. We have to do things this way."

"I know," Ron repeated with a sigh as he held his wand to the side and waited for the fight.

O

"The old fool is fast," Voldemort grimaced when Avery told him that they attempt to get into Hogwarts through the sewer entrances, or it had been an exit when he used it before, to the Chamber of Secrets. He had known that Dumbledore knew where the Chamber was by now but he had thought there was a chance that he wouldn't have thought about it. He played Dumbledore's hand too much, he realized now, Dumbledore must have been looking for him to do something else. Now he would just have to figure out how.

"My Lord," Avery said in a shaky, his head bowed, "I'm sorry, but we need to know what to do next. Those that have been firing curses all day …"

"Will continued to fire those curses," Voldemort said coldly, "I care not if they are tired, that is what I need them to do. What I need for you is to tell me again what had happened."

Avery told him everything as he closed his eyes, picturing not only what his Death Eaters had done, but how Dumbledore reaction must have gone like.

"Alastor Moody," Voldemort mused out loud, the old Auror would be key to Dumbledore's observation scheme. So how was he going to make it so he could use this against Dumbledore. Someway to fool even that magical eye.

Right now, he could have used Severus Snape, the man would be able to get what he need quickly. Of course he had to assume that Severus, like Narcissa before him, had chosen to go on Dumbledore's side. That would be the only explanation that he could think of for Severus not showing up. The only way for the sly man to live if he every saw Severus again, was if Dumbledore dropped dead from poisoning … something he didn't expect to happen.

"I need you to find a supply of Polyjuice Potion," Voldemort said. "Get Wormtail, he knows Snape's places better than anyone and there should be some there. Bring anything else useful form there, and be quick. There are people here getting tired," he added the last lash of cold sarcasm and Avery flinched away from him.

As Avery stumbled out of the room he put his next plan together. There was no need to do this quickly. Honestly Dumbledore only had a handful of seasoned fighters in there and the rest of his ranks is filled with children. The wait could be just as effected as an actually attack.

O

"I never thought this was how it would be like," Harry sighed sitting down at the Great Hall, it was three days later. There had been near constant attacks, at the very least the Death Eaters had fired curses at the shield causing the shuddering of the castle every few minutes. The Death Eater had actually broken through a few of their defensive and quick fights had taken place but they were able to push them back and block off the way they had entered. There had been on particularly bad attack, were the Death Eaters had used Polyjuice Potion, confusing where the the main forces of Voldemort's forces were. Harry, Ron and Hermione had found themselves facing Avery, Dolohov and Macnair as they came into one of the secret passageways. It was a long fight and it was lucky that a few people had come to help them halfway through the duel, pushing them back through the passageway … making sure the passageway wouldn't be able to be used for a while.

"No … I would have thought there would be more fighting," Ron agreed before he stuffed his mouth full of food. They were only allowed to have half an hour to eat before they had to get back.

"I imagine things are going to be picking up soon," Hermione sighed. The other day Alberforth had come though the passageway in the Room of Requirement looking grim, followed by something that sounded like the passageway was collapsing. It was in fact the case. The Death Eaters had apparently discovered that people were going in and out of Hogwarts via the Hogshead. Luckily there hadn't been any of the parents and more importantly students in the pub at the time and that Alberforth had made it through all right.

It was also lucky that they had gotten to most of the parents and now there were only Fifty of the younger students that were in the Transfiguration room, along with Neville and his Grandmother, Hannah Abbott too had chosen to stay, though she had a long fight to convince her father that she should. After what had happened to her mother earlier this year he had wished to get them both out of the battle zone, but Hannah was determined not to let anyone else lose their mothers or other family member if she could help it, and her dad had decided to stay as well, as close to her as possible. Along with Ernie and Justin, who's parents hadn't come either, made up for the defensive for the students.

"I almost hope it will … all this wait is killing me," Ginny said, a grim expression on her face as she said this because she knew that it would mean people would be in danger. She really didn't want that, but at the same time she knew that it was going to happen soon or later and she just wish it would be sooner.

"Oh, I don't think we'll have to worry about it," Fred said, sitting down next to her. He and George had been taking a break to sleep in the castle near where their family was when Aberforth had collapsed the one safe secret passageway left to them and now they were stuck in Hogwarts as much as everyone else was. "I heard the '_adults_' talk about it," he went on, putting emphasis on the world adult, still a little put out that in this, he and his twin weren't thought as that.

"They said something about the constant attack weakening the shield," George said. "I don't think they're going to hold up much longer."

"Haven't they been reinforcing the shields?" Ron asked frowning.

"Of course they have, but that will only work for so long," Hermione answered before the twins could. "Do you know what we're planning on doing if the shields do fail."

"Moody said that he would be able to tell within ten minutes when the shields would fail," Fred said.

"When that time comes they're planning on bringing most of the people to the grounds because otherwise we would be outnumbered so bad that everyone would be scrambling," George added.

"But they're going to keep at least a few people at each of the passageways, seeing as the Death Eaters had already proven they can get in that way," Fred frowned looking grim.

"I don't like this," Harry frowned. "Voldemort must know the shields are failing too … he's going to use the passageways as much as he uses the front … so we'll be scrambling to keep our forces straight."

"Merlin Harry, you sound just like Moody," Fred grinned, that was what the scarred wizard had said.

"Of course they're going to try and cover that too," George said, after smiling briefly with his brother, he had gone back to grimacing. His eyes were constantly on Fred as if he was terrified of what might happen in this coming fight. "But they think this is it … it's all going to come down to this fight."

"So what was the last three days?" Ginny asked.

"Mind games," Ron answered. "They kept us from getting any kind of rest," he said holding out his hand one finger and the raising the another, "they kept us anxious waiting for the fight …" raising another finger, "the fact that they waited so long puts people not on guard as we were before. There's more, but you get the point. And worst, we haven't been able to do anything to the Death Eaters so they're likely in a better shape than us."

"Well at least we have about a hundred more fighters thanks to the parents that joined us," Ginny said.

"That is good … we almost have even numbers with the Death Eaters now," Harry nodded his head.

"I still wonder how the Death Eaters kept our community from finding out that an army was camped out in front of Hogwarts," George said shaking his head. "But Angie said, everyone is still unaware …"

"What are they doing now?" Ginny asked. "Angelina, Lee, Alicia, Oliver and the others." They unlike Fred and George had still be trying to contact the parents when the passageway was closed off.

"Actually we had discussed what we would do if this was to happen," George answered. "They're going to keep telling people about this, though they won't be able to get Hogwarts or even Hogsmeade now, it would still be good to have them know."

"Does Dumbledore know about this?" Harry asked the twins and they looked at each other not sure how they should answer. They had gotten a list of people that the head master had thought would be good to be informed about what had happened, but they had not gotten to that point as they were told to tell the parents first.

"We're not sure," Fred answered for them. "What are you thinking?"

"I'm thinking I'm going to have a word with our Headmaster," Harry said, taking another bit of his meal and then got up to do just that. Ron and Hermione shared a look before they too got up. He knew that they had a made a silent agreement not to let him out of their sight and he was actually happy. He didn't really like the idea of not being able to see them either. He noticed as he held the door open for his friends, that Ginny was still sitting at the table, now having been joined by the rest of her family, minus Ron, and he knew that appease them. Molly had allowed her to partake in the fight, when she had expected to kick and scream to be able to. He turned away from the hall and headed for where he knew that Dumbledore was standing, a place where he could direct everyone and watch Voldemort too.

"Harry?" Dumbledore said, the long days seemed to show in Dumbledore's face as he smiled at Harry and the others. But there was still a twinkle in his eyes. "What do you have on your mind?" he added as he gave Harry a sharp look.

"Fred and George were just telling me about what might be coming soon," Harry said cryptically just in case those in hearing distance hadn't been informed of whatever console that Dumbledore had.

"I see," Dumbledore said, his odd twinkle brightening considerable at this words, "I imagine you are talking about the our protective shields."

"Yes sir," Harry said. "They also said that the others … er … Lee, Angelina, Alicia and the others are still contacting people outside of Hogwarts and they weren't sure if you knew that as well."

"Hm," Dumbledore said thoughtfully, "I was not … thank you for informing me about this."

Harry wasn't sure if he was being dismissed or not, but he didn't move. He watched as Dumbledore thought, which didn't seemed to bother the headmaster in the least.

"Do you know how many people have been contacted and how many might be interested in helping us out?" Dumbledore asked.

Harry shook his head but even as he did this Hermione pulled out her DA coins and asked the questions that Dumbledore had. It was a few minutes later when she looked up and said, "they had twenty nine people now, but Oliver and Alicia are still talking to a few people."

"Are they all together?" Dumbledore asked and again they all waited for Hermione to turn to the coin before they could get the answer.

"Yes, they thought it would be best that way," Hermione said. "Just in case they were needed."

"Very good … and very high sighted of them," Dumbledore smiled. "We will definitely need them … a little extra tactic of our own …" he was quite again as he thought about what he wanted. Once he was done with that he asked Hermione to relay the message to the others which she quickly did.

"Are we going to head back to the passageway?" Harry now asked, wondering where Dumbledore would want him during the major battle that was about to take place.

"No," Dumbledore answered. "I was going to wait to tell you this until it was closer to that time, but now that you are here, there is little point of that. The passageways are important, but the main battle will be won or lost on the grounds and we will need all of you there to help," he said these words with a grave expression on his face, as if he hated having to deliver them. However, Harry was no longer a boy, despite the fact that he had yet to turn seventeen, and he was one of the best duelist that they had … and he had more experience then all but the Aurors. Ron and Hermione too were season fighters and the three of them worked well as a team.

"Sir … er …" Ron started to ask, still not used to talking to the headmaster directly but he wanted to know something more than he was embarrassed. "Where are my family going to be."

"Molly, Ginny, Fred and George will stay in the castle to protect the passageways, the rest of your family members will be outside," Dumbledore answered and then looked at Harry for seeing the question he was asking, "Sirius, Remus, Nymphadora, and Emmeline will be on the grounds as well. I believe Sirius will seek you out to inform you that he will remain close to you throughout this fight."

"I would expect nothing else from him," Harry actually smiled. "And I like the idea myself." He closed his eyes though, as he remembered when Remus had told him about Sirius going to rescue Narcissa (and Lucius) and how he had was capture in return and nearly killed. He could not say anything to his godfather, if he was in Sirius place he would have definitely done the same things. But the thought of losing his godfather had hit him hard and knowing that they were entering the final battle, he really did need to see Sirius as they all fight to make sure he was okay. Harry nodded his head and turned to walk away from Dumbledore to head down to where he saw Sirius not to long ago, Hermione and Ron following him seeming to be deep in thought just as he was.

"Hey kid," Sirius said smiling when Harry came near, Remus, Tonks, Emmeline, Arthur, Bill and Fleur were all there there was well, talking anxiously to one another. "You know you're new assignment."

"Yep," Harry answered, not telling them that he had gone to Dumbledore, there was no need.

"So Narcissa has decided to stay in the castle," Remus said as if the trio was there the whole time, which they appreciated because they were still coming to terms with everything.

"Yeah," Sirius answered. "Of course there is no safe place, but there's going to be more chaos on the grounds than in the castle … it will be safer for her and Draco … oh and that other Slytherin kid that had chosen to fight with us too … what was his name again."

"Theodore Nott," Ron answered, "I don't know about him … can we really trust him."

"Ronald," Hermione said rolling her eyes. "He put his life in danger when he warned Draco …"

"Not really winning my vote, now are you?" Ron said rolling his eyes as well. "Besides, I can remember at least five times that he laughed when Malfoy was insulting you in the past."

"I do too, but I sort of thought that had to do with the fact that Hermione is better than him in every subject," Harry pointed out. "I actually saw him talking to Justin a few times and there were … well not friends but at least they seemed to be on friendly terms."

"Anyways," Sirius said, smiling at the trio before he went back to his main point. "He was the one that came up with the idea of transfigurating themselves so that they might not be recognized. For that alone, I'm glad the boy chose to be on our side. Not that Cissa won't still be in danger … but at least they won't be as much as an obvious target as they they would be without it."

"That's enough talking you lot," Moody barked as he limped by them. "You all need to get to you post, the shields have little more than five minutes left."

No one said a word … no one seemed to be able to. Battle at last had come and there were about to face it in the fullest.

**A/N: Okay, so first of all I want to say sorry about the last few chapter. I'm not saying they were bad, but I basically drew out the coming battle in each of these chapters. This was because, honestly I was having a writer's block on how I actually wanted it to happen and how I was going to show that. Then next, this last part of this chapter was actually going to be it's own chapter in itself (which would have prolonged the real battle even longer), but I actually got inspiration after finishing that part and I felt confident I'd be able to get the next chapter done with. I had felt like I was grasping at straws the last few weeks just to get something out there, and though I like some moments (like Draco and Theodore's discussion) there were others (like Voldemort's thought) that felt like filler. Hopefully I'm done with filler from now on and going into the battle. Oh, and I also wanted to show that the battle would take longer because Dumbledore is there and Voldemort is more cautions because of that.  
**


	48. Fighting Part One

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Eight

Fighting

Though Harry hated to admit this, Voldemort had excellent timing. The moment the shields finally fell there were hundreds of Death Eaters on the grounds, even though there was only a small area that they could get into. It didn't seem to matter. They burst through and the fight, that had been so cold before this point, broke out in full force. Harry had no time to worry whether there were other attacks happening in the passageway in the castle, all he could think about is the person that sent a curse his way. He noted that the curse had only been a stunning charm and he idly wondered if that was because this wasn't one of the harden Death Eaters that cared not for killing kids, or had Voldemort ordered his followers not to kill him. Snape had said the last he knew, that indeed was Voldemort's order, but he couldn't be sure if that was still true now in the light of everything.

He force that musing out of his mind as he heard Ron shout a curse and closed his eyes as the ten yard radius around his friend flashed brightly, blinding not only the Death Eater Ron was faces but the one that Harry was as well. Harry quickly stun his opponent and then preformed the charmed that Dumbledore had shown him that made sure that this Death Eater would not be able to break his bonds for at least a day. He looked over to see that Hermione was doing the same thing to a masked fighter as well, and he was glad that he had taught this in the last DA meeting. Even though only Hermione and Susan Bones had master as well as he had, he knew that he wasn't nearly as good as Dumbledore, but at the very least their opponent would be bond for an hour (and most could make it last longer than that).

They had no time to congratulate each other, and they didn't even try to. The next fighter moved on him as soon as he was done binding the other and this time there was no quick fix. He had to dodge curses, shield the others, all the while firing his own. It was hard, and his heart never stop pounding in his chest, but he had defeated two more people before he even realized it and was able to take a breath. As the moment cleared he immediately looked for Ron and Hermione, they were closer to each other than the were to him, but they both seemed to be doing fine in their present fight. It was then when he saw the person coming towards his friends and he was back to acting on instinct and fired the shield charm surrounding both his friends and the next moment cursing the person who had fired on them. This move had the added bonus of his friends being shield from those they were fighting, giving them a free shot at the ones they were fighting as well.

"Thanks mate," Ron croaked, his voice was soar from the constant yelling that he was doing. His eyes, had only briefly stayed on Harry before they scanned the area around them as if he was trying to locate the next person they would face. Harry did the same, he knew there would be no rest … not until one side would have to retreat and he was going to make sure it wouldn't be their side.

"Get down," Hermione shouted at Harry as she pushed Ron down.

Harry just had time to duck when at least five stunning curses came their way. He looked at Ron and Hermione and saw to his surprise there was a barrier in front of them, which was able to cover them as more attacks came. He quickly moved to were the were, missing get hit by another curse by inches.

"I was using Legilimency," Hermione said before he could ask, but with her answer that made sense. "It normal wouldn't have worked … but they were all thinking it at the same time … loud and clear in their mind."

"Do you know what their planning on doing now?" Ron asked, "or what we should do now?"

"No idea what they're thinking," Hermione answered shortly, "though I think it involves getting closer and then cursing us … they have us pinned down."

"Really!" Ron said sarcastically. "'cause I haven't noticed that."

"I was thinking the twins newest product might help," Harry said, pulling out the decoy detonators.

"Do you really think that will be enough?" Hermione asked.

"With this, it should be," Ron said, pulling out his hair thinking quickly, catching on to what Harry's plan was and looked into Hermione's eyes, knowing that she would understand as he thought about what the twins had told him and Harry about this new and improved decoy detonators. Harry copied Ron's movements and only a second later Hermione did the same. Then Harry released the two of the regular decoy detonators paused for a second before releasing the ones that had their hair in it. The first decoys where cursed immediately.

There was complaints by one of their opponents about this and there was a noticeable pause as the other decoy detonators came out, but soon they two had been fired on. They fell to the ground as if they had really been a person that was hit with a curse. Harry was sure by now that Voldemort had ordered that he not be killed because all three of the decoys had been hit by stunners. Still it was hard looking at the decoy detonators laying there, two of which were his best friends ...

"Did he really think that would work?" a voice Harry recognized as Macnair, Buckbeak the Hippogriff would be executioner asked. "What do you think we should do with the others?"

"Kill them," Dolohov answered coldly, "Potter is the only one that the Dark Lord wants us to capture."

Harry's eyes were on Ron, knowing that his firery friend couldn't stand to hear that, though he was surprised when Ron looked at him, his blue eyes filled with fury as he silently asked if it was time for them to attack yet. Harry nodded his head and all three of them stood to fire curses.

Ron fired a reducto curse, aiming straight at Dolohov's right side, the force of which knocking him off his feet. Harry on the other hand, knowing who Ron would go after first, chose Macnair, he too went flying through the air. Hermione, on the other hand, sent her curse at the ground near where she had known the Death Eaters had been. It had caused their feet to sink into the floor, which had thrown the remaining Death Eaters off when they turned to attack the trio, one of their curses flying too high to hit anyone as the other two tried to regain their balance … it was clear that these three weren't season fighters. Harry, Ron and Hermione were able to take them down in only a minute as they turned to the greater threats.

Dolohov was back on his feet, and Harry was confused when he saw him march over to where one of his fallen companions but Ron didn't seemed to be. He hit Dolohov with another reducto curse, this time on Dolohov's left side, a dark look in his eyes. Harry turned to see that Hermione was casting the bonding charm on Macnair, which he knew wasn't entirely needed, after the spell he used on the Death Eater, he wouldn't be waking up any time soon. Ron too bond Dolohov, and the Death Eater screamed in pain. Ron then almost lazily caused the stunning charm that put the Dolohov out of his misery.

"That's more than you deserve," Ron spat bitterly at the Death Eater at his feet, but he could not bare to torture someone that was helpless, even if it was the sorry excuse for a human, who'd killed his uncles.

"Why had he been in pain?" Harry asked confused, he couldn't see how the bonding spell would hurt.

"The Reducto curse I used on him broke all of the bones in his arm … both his arms," Ron said, still with the dark expression in his eyes. "His wand too … that's why he was going for the other."

"Remind me not to get on your bad side," Harry said, trying to pull his friend out of his mood, or at least get him to look away from the the twisted face man that was near them. "Come on Ron …. there's a lot more that we have to do before this night is over," he said when his distraction didn't work, and steered their away from their most recent victory. It was only a minute later that they were fighting again.

O

"Stupefy!" he yelled and the third Death Eater that had round the corner he was guarding fell just as the other two had. His plan to have those guarding the passageway nearby, lead their fight to this corridor so that it would be easy to for him to stun their opponent had worked well so far. Draco had been important in convincing the others to follow his advise he had to note. It had been old to see adults actually listen to Draco but they seemed to have accept him and listened when he put a reasonable plan in front of them. Of course he realized his plan wouldn't always work, judging by the sounds both in and out of the castle, the fighting had increased and there was enough Death Eater attack at once, he was going to have to really duel. He feared that though he would never admit it to anyone. He had never been much of a dueler, though he knew all of the spells and how to preform them. He was a thinker and he preferred doing that to fighting any day.

"Stupefy!" he called again, only five minutes after the last Death Eater had been cursed. Draco had just barely had time to move the other into the hallway before this one had come. He was sure now that the fight was coming now, and all he had trapped was four Death Eaters, trapped and imprisoned them in a cell that Madeye Moody had charmed himself. There was no chance they would get out, but still, what was four when the Dark Lord's army had hundreds.

"Stupefy!" he called once more, it had only two minutes later and was not completely surprised when this time it didn't work. He jumped to the side to dodge the curse that was thrown at him.

"Little boy playing traps," A woman's voice cooed and he recognized it. The best thing he could say was that at least it had not been Bellatrix Lestrange's voice, because he knew he would not live long if it was her, disguise or not. Still, this woman had come to his house with her brother ... the Carrows, if he remembered correctly. She was as cruel as Bellatrix he knew, but she wasn't as smart or powerful.

"We have a smart one here," she continued to taunt him as he tried to work through what to do. He had no experience fighting and it showed now … he was thinking too much. "But smart ones scream just as much as the others once I'm done with them," she smiled, though the mask she was wearing hide that, he knew she smiled. "Crucio!"

The good thing about thinking … he had known this was the curse she would use, so he had been waiting for it. He leaped out of the way, and idea coming to him as she crackled and she raised her arm to throw the next torturing curse at him.

"Speculum Vomica!" he shouted, a mirror coming to shield him and reflect the curse back on her. This spell wouldn't work on everything, but despite being an Unforgivable Curse, the Cruciatus Curse was actually weak to his own curse.

It worked just as he wanted and the Death Eater laid wailing on the ground. He rushed to stun the her, knowing that rebound curse wouldn't last long. In fact she was already getting up as his stunning curse hit her, knocking her out.

"You should be careful," Draco said, walking towards him.

"Careful?" Theodore asked, confused. He was actually feeling good that he had won this fight.

"The curse you used," Draco said pointedly, he looked odd with dark hair and brown eyes, his face not pointed either. "It's a dead give away that you were raised in a Dark house."

"Oh," Theodore sighed, he had not thought about that, but Draco was right. The curse he used was not a dark curse, but it was a very rare one, a curse that he had found in one of his Father's prized books.

"Good, you two are safe," Kingsley said, he was in charged of organizing the inner castle defenses. "Your plan worked well, but I think it would be better if you two stayed closer together from now on."

"Only four Death Eaters fell to the plan," Theodore said, he had hoped for it to work better than that, but he understood why Kingsley would stop now. The element of surprise was down and that was key.

"Which means that Fred and George, along with you and M … Draco," Kinsley started to say, choosing to name Draco familiarly as he had done the Weasley twins. Showing the same respect for all, or at least that was what Theodore thought he was doing. Kingsley had been a good choice for Dumbledore to use to be in charged, he was easy to respect and respected everyone no matter the house. He had been wary of Theodore's new found alliance, but allowed it when Draco had vouched for him. "You four have only had to spend a minimal amount of your energy … in a long battle this is important." he took a deep breath and added, "things will only get more difficult from now on. There are some holes in the outer defenses so attacks might be coming form both ends … be prepared."

"We well," Draco answered for both of them as Theodore gulped. Again he wished for an easier fight, but it looked like he wouldn't get one.


	49. Fighting Part Two

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Forty-Nine

Fighting Part Two

"Expelliarmus!"

There was a crashing sound and Neville winced when he turned and saw something broken on the floor. He turned back to the two second years and gave them a shaky smile. "That was … better."

"Really," the little one said, excitedly, Neville was reminded of Colin and Dennis Creevey and how they were in the first lesson. He remembered his own experience at that meeting and smiled, though he was a little awed. How had he gone from being one of the worst in the group, to helping second years learn the spell he wasn't sure, he just tried to remember how Harry had done things and then added his own spin on the lesson.

"Yeah … you nearly hit Mike this time," Neville said.

"I guess I'm just lucky that Mike isn't any better at aiming than I am," Tyler said.

"Hey!" Mike complained and then sighed. "I guess you're right, but you didn't have to say it."

"I had problems with this spell too the first time … If I remember correctly, I knocked Justin to the ground causing him to have boils … er … never mind that," Neville said frowning at the memory of his second year were he first learned the spell from Lockhart and Snape.

"Okay … at least we aren't as bad as you were," Tyler said.

"Get back to work," Neville snapped at them and then grinned at them as they laughed.

"Do you know what I'm doing wrong?" Mike asked tentatively.

"You need to keep your wand movement sharper," Neville answered so only Mike could hear him. "Don't wave it around so much and you'll have better aim."

Mike nodded his head and then moved so he would face off with Tyler again. Neville counted down and the two boys raised their wands and shouted "Expelliarmus!"

"I did it!" Mike cheered as Tyler's wand flew into the air (the spell that the other boy sent missing Mike by inches). "Did you see Neville! I did it!"

"Yeah, that was brilliant," Neville laughed.

"That's no fair … you helped him," Tyler grumbled.

Neville had offered to help Tyler ten minutes ago, but Tyler said he wanted to learn the spell on his own. Instead of reminding the boy of this, Neville simply walked over to him and give him pointers that he thought would help the boy. Soon enough there was an noticeable improvement in his work.

"That was better," Neville said after another duel between the boys, but he was wincing again as the two curse had hit each other and then bouncing in different directions were something else broke. "I think I need a break."

"Okay … but I think we'll keep practicing," Tyler said, still eager.

"Good," Neville smiled at them and then walked over to a chair in the corner of the room, allowing himself to relax for a few minutes. He had been trying to keep alert all the time, waiting for an attack that might never come. Kingsley had come in and out of the room a few times giving him reports … the last report he had said that the real fight was probably going to start within the hour. That had been two hours ago. He wasn't sure what that meant, but his stomach was clenched up with nerves. Maybe he shouldn't have choice to sit down. Helping the younger students had at least kept him from thinking about this. Kept him from thinking the door would break any second and Death Eaters would come in here cursing everyone …

"You're really good with them," someone said from behind him and Neville spun around, wide eye in his surprise and raising his wand. Hannah Abbot raised her eyebrow at him, surprise herself.

"Sorry," Neville sighed.

"You're expecting an attack," Hannah whisper, sitting in the seat next to him, her eyes filling with worry and fear.

"I was just thinking of one," Neville admitted. "But I'm sure we'll be okay."

"You're not a very good lair," Hannah sighed, her eyes darting to the doors to the Transfiguration room.

Neville reached out and grabbed her hand before he could think and gave it a reassuring squeeze. Hannah turned to look back at him and gave him a small smile.

"I'm glad you decided to stay in here," Hannah said slightly breathless. "You've helped keep everyone in here calm … even though we're all still terrified."

"You choice to stay in here too," Neville shrugged, turning pink at what she was saying.

"I couldn't leave …" she said looking down, and Neville was horrified to see that tears were brimming in her eyes. "They killed my mothers," her voice was soft, barely more than a whisper, but he heard her. And he understood why she was here … his parents weren't dead, but they were still gone to him, all because of the Death Eaters and Voldemort. "I couldn't leave," she repeated, her voice stronger now, "but there was no way that Dad would have let me stay if we were out on the grounds or even in the castle. He's afraid …"

"I know," Neville said, because she was close to tears again, and he didn't need her to tell him that her dad was afraid that she'd be killed. He was afraid of that too … or that he'd lost his grandmother. Or Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Luna, Dean, Seamus, Ernie, Justin, Michael … there was a list of names that he could list off that he was afraid will be killed in this fight. "I …"

Whatever he was about to say was lost to him as he felt the room shake. He stood quickly and ran to the doors, Hannah trailing after him.

"What's going on?" seemed to be the question on everyone's lips … or at least everyone was thinking it. The younger students had gather closer together, trying to take comfort from their fellow students but they were all clearly terrified.

"Remember what I told you," Neville said to them, his voice was oddly firm because he was expecting it to quiver with his own fear. But he knew he had to be the strong one, whether he was afraid or not, because as Hannah had just said, and Ron the other day, he was the one that they were looking at. "Stick together and make sure that you watch each other closely."

The room shook again, and there was a cracking sound at the door as if a great force was being battered against it.

"Dobby," Neville said in a commanding voice and second later the elf showed up looking scared and yet ready for whatever was about to come.

"You is calling Dobby, Neville Longbottom, sir," the elf said.

"The defenses are about to fall," Neville said, his conversation with McGonagall four days ago when he had first came into the room coming back to him, and he followed what she had told him to do. "You do know the secret passageway …"

"Yes sir! Dobby can be opening them if you is wishing," Dobby answered. "Master Dumbledore said Neville Longbottom is being allow to tell Dobby, all house elves, to be opening the passageways."

"Good," Neville said, "I want you to open the passageway and start taking the students through it, but don't go too far. If the defensive hold, this place is still safer than the passageway …"

"Dobby is understanding," Dobby said.

"Gran, I need you to lead them," Neville said, and when his grandmother made to protest he shook his head. "Someone experience needs to be in front in case there is danger wherever the passageway leads to … or a Death Eaters gets inside." He turned away from his grandmother, hoping she would do what he said without protesting. If he had not turned away he would have seen the proud look on her face. "Dobby, if the Death Eaters get in here before everyone is in the passageway, please try to make sure the students get inside … close the passageway once everyone is safe. That won't stop them from coming after you, but it should take them some time to break into the passageway to follow you."

Dobby had a look of concern on his face as he nodded his hand and started working.

"Hannah, you should help Dobby," Neville said.

"I'm staying here," she said raising her wand.

"No," Neville shook his head, "I need you to stay closer to the students … to guard them and Dobby … he's he only one that can seal the passageway properly …. it would give everyone the most chance of getting away. Also make sure he doesn't close the passageway until the defenses break … it is safer in here if the defense hold then for use to go out into the open."

Hannah didn't look happy with this, but she did as she was told, just like the others had. Neville wondered what had happened that made people listen to him, but he couldn't worry about that now, another crashing sound showed that it was useless to hope that the defenses would hold. Neville was sure by the next curse, the Death Eaters would break through.

O

Sirius once again glanced over to were Harry and his friends were dueling. He was really impressed by how well they were doing and how well they worked together. His eyes then flickered farther to the other side of the trio where Remus and Tonks were fighting some faceless enemy. Again he was glad to see that they were all okay as he turned back to his own fight. It had been a five minutes since the last person showed up and he was getting wary. This was the third time that he checked on his love ones and if he kept that up he was going to get curse without even putting up a fight.

He felt useless where he stood but he couldn't move and chase after Death Eaters, because that would leave a hole in their defensive and he wouldn't be able to help his love ones if he ran into a fight. He felt a chill run though him and he turned to his left to see Emmeline dueling with another nameless and faceless person and as he was about to help her he noticed something coming towards her through the shadows.

He sent a silent blasting charm at the person, using the quickest spell he knew before the guy could curse Emmeline from behind. Unfortunately the curse missed, but the unexpectedness of his curse seemed to have caused the Death Eater to stumble backwards and Sirius caught a glimpse of sliver.

"You!" Sirius growled as he realized who the man, the one that had nearly cursed his girlfriend in the back, was. "Wormtail!"

Though Wormtail said nothing he still knew it had to be the rat, the one friend that had betrayed him so many years ago and framed him so he would spend twelve years in Azkaban.

"You can't even fight a fair fight can you!" Sirius snarled as he sent another curse at the rat.

"Can you?" Peter asked back, his voice shaky with fear as he tried to shield himself from Sirius's wrath. "You were going to curse Jugson … you're the same as me."

"I'M NOTHING LIKE YOU!" Sirius shouted, enraged by that comment and barely had time to dodge the curse that Peter had sent at him. He took a deep breath as he got up, trying not to let his anger take over him. _This was how you let him frame you twelve years ago,_ the logical part of his brain was shouting at him. He had been so furious that he could hardly see straight and his aim had suffered too. It was different this time though, they weren't in a street full of innocent muggles (muggles that Peter had no problem killing but he had tried not to get involved) and he had more control over himself.

"I never would have killed innocent people to save myself," Sirius went on, his voice cold, keeping his emotions in check as he went on. "How many people's blood do you have on your hands … or did you stop counting when you got that pretty little replacement of yours."

"I …" Peter started to say, his voice uncertain but he was still able to move out of the way when Sirius's curse nearly hit him, his Death Eater mask fell off his face though. Sirius wished it hadn't, seeing the face of his old friend did nothing to exhaust the anger he was feeling. Peter had that same scare expression he always had when he was about to be picked on by one of the Slytherins at school. How that boy could turn away from Sirius, James and Remus to join the very people that use to push him around Sirius would never understand, but there was no turning back for the rat now.

"How the hell did you turn out this way?" Sirius asked. "A sniveling coward who cares only about living."

"I am not a coward!" Peter said, angry flashing in his eyes as they exchanged curses. Sirius easily working his moves so that he would have the opening he wanted soon. "That's what you always thought I was … the little sniffling prat that followed you around … good for a laugh … but you never could have thought that little Peter would have a mind. Could do anything on his own."

Sirius didn't say anything to this, as he watched the man that had once been his friend shout bitterly at him. There were truth in Peter's words but not nearly as much as the rat seemed to think there was. It was too late to talk to Peter about this, the boy that had once been his friends had died in the first war when Voldemort had turned him against his friend. And this man before him was just the bitter, cowardly shell that was left behind.

"But I showed you … I outsmarted you … all of you!" Peter continued to say, seeming to take courage from his most despicable acts.

Sirius felt a cold rage take over him then, it wasn't his normal rage where he acted rashly, but one that allowed him to stay calm as his anger raised. He put his final moves together as he cast curse after curse at the rat until he was finally able to disarm him.

"What you did was act in such a way that we couldn't think you would ever act," Sirius snarled to the bruised and disarmed wizard on the ground. "It wasn't outsmarting … it was betraying everything good in you just so you could live."

"Sirius please," Peter begged, his eyes wide in his terror. "Please don't kill me … I … never …"

"Peter don't!" Sirius warned, but the rat didn't even noticed that it was more of a warning than an angry snarl that Peter would dare to ask Sirius for mercy. Sirius wasn't even aware of it himself, but as Peter tried to swear he would stop fighting … promising up his allegiance … anything just so he might live, Sirius knew what was going to happen next. Just as it had in the book, Peter's sliver arm started moving on it's own accord … moving against it's owner.

Sirius cast a silent serving curse at the arm, but Peter's metal hand moved to take the curse instead of the upper arm and he had to jump out of the way as the curse rebounded at him. By the time he got back to his feet, Peter was being choked and Sirius knew it was too late. Or maybe it wasn't, but he couldn't seem to move … to try to help. Sirius felt a wave of emotions, running from pity to angry that he wasn't to take his full revenge on the man that had caused the death of his friends.

"Was it really worth it Peter?" Sirius asked the corpse that would never be able to answer him now.

"Sirius," Emmeline said from behind him and when he heard a soft gasp he knew that she saw the rat. "Are you okay."

She grabbed his arm and he allowed himself to be comforted for a second before he said, "there's still a fight going on … I can't afford to dwell on this now."

He turned away from the rat for the last time, and rejoined the fight that was now raging around him.


	50. Fighting Part Three

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifty

Fighting Part Three

Everything seemed to happen so fast, one second the doors to the room were there and the next he found himself facing five Death Eaters, helped only by one other person. He sent everything he had at the Death Eaters, stalling them for as long as he could so those still behind had time to get out of the room, but he knew he could only hold this up for a few seconds. He was outnumbered and they were stronger than he was, but somehow he was going to have to buy a few more minutes. He cast every single curse that he could think that would cause a distraction.

"Dad … Neville, everyone's in the tunnel," he heard Hannah shout from behind him, form the corner of his eyes he could see her shield charm protect Dobby, as the elf hurried the last of the younger students through the tunnel. He slowly walked backwards, wondering if he too could escape through the tunnel … or would that be wrong. He probably should stay behind and make sure the Death Eater had to fight him before following the others. That would give them more time …

"DAD!" the cry form Hannah made up Neville's decision for him as he saw Mr. Abbott fall to the ground because of a curse that had a bright yellow color to it.

"Dobby, take Hannah and close the passageway!" he commanded, not even turning to look at them despite the protested he heard from Hannah as he stopped being defensive and charged forward to fight the Death Eaters.

He actually cursed two of the Death Eaters before he was hit by a spell that knocked him off his feet, his wand falling out of his hand as he crushed to the ground. Despite the fact that he was wandless now, he got to his feet, turning to face the three remaining Death Eaters as defiantly as he could.

"You were foolish to try and protect them boy … even more so for staying behind," one of the mask man said. "But I daresay, Longbottoms aren't known for making the smart choice."

"Who are you?" Neville demanded, not liking the taunt he curse heard one bit.

"Rabastan, Avery, open that passageway," the Death Eaters ordered before looking down at Neville, taking off his mask and Neville saw Rodolphus Lestrange. "You asked who I am … why I'm the man that watch the last glint of sanity leave your parents eyes."

"You!" Neville growled and tried to charge at the man.

"Crucio," Rodolphus said lazily and Neville felt pain like he had never felt before.

It seemed to go on forever until suddenly it was gone, though his body still ached. He found that he was on the floor and his throat hurt … he must have been yelling.

"Call back that elf," Rodolphus said in a indifferent voice. "Order him to open the passageway … I promise that I will not hurt the children … the Dark Lord doesn't want to destroy a future generation."

"The Dark Lord couldn't give a damn about a future generation," Neville cried out defiantly. "I won't help you."

"An answer I would expect from a Longbottom," Rodolphus commented, "Perhaps you'll find some kind of please with your parents when you go mad as well."

Neville could do nothing but glare at Rodolphus … could do nothing but wait from the curse to come, because he wasn't going to give up the kids no matter what this monster threatened him with.

"Cru …" Rodolphus started to say until there was a flash of black behind him and he groaned as he flew through the air landing a few feet in front of Neville.

"Neville are you okay?" Ginny asked him, she was out of breath and showed obvious signs of being in a fight, but clearly not seriously injured. Neville couldn't answered, he was looking behind him as Luna and Mrs. Weasley fought the two reminding Death Eaters, though they had been caught by surprise as well, they were able to defend themselves before getting taken care of.

"Yeah," Neville muttered in response when he turned back and noticed Ginny still looking at him, before he moved to get his wand. He spotted it a few feet away and as soon as he picked it up he went to help Luna in her fight and was lucky enough to hit the Death Eater with a curse which also made it so Luna's curse hit him as well. He turned to Mrs. Weasley then but noticed that that duel was done with as well.

"The children?" Mrs. Weasley asked, warily.

"Grans is taking them through the passageway with Hannah and Dobby," Neville answered. "I couldn't hold off the Death Eaters …"

"You did well, Neville," Mrs. Weasley said, giving him a weak smile, though it seemed like the best she could managed.

"It seems like they're going to get out near the vanishing wall on the fourth floor," Ginny said and Neville turned to gap at her. How could she possible know that, but he saw that she had a map in her hand, the one that Harry used.

"We better get over there as quickly at we can then," Mrs. Weasley nodded.

"Wait I have to check on Mr. Abbott," Neville said and the three women turned as one to look at the man that was laying unconscious on the floor near them as Neville moved over him. Neville checked his neck and was relived when he found a pulse. "What should we do with him?"

Mrs. Weasley bend down to examine Mr. Abbott before she started muttering some kind of spell that Neville didn't know. Second later Mr. Abbott's eyes flickered opened and Mrs. Weasley quickly explained what had happened and that they had to leave to get to the fourth floor as quickly as possible.

"I don't think I can move quickly," Mr. Abbott grimaced as he sat up. "Go without me, I'll be fine here."

"If a Death Eater finds you they'll won't show you any mercy because you're hurt," Neville pointed out, knowing that was true. "I'll help you move, but lets hurry."

"I'll take my chances," Mr. Abbott said, and when they didn't listen to him he said in near tears, "Hannah needs your help more than I do … please make sure that she's okay."

"I will," Neville said, leaning down and helping Mr. Abbott onto his feet, the other man flinching in pain but stood all the same, letting himself be supported by Neville. "But we're all going to go there together … I'm not leaving you behind."

There was no more arguments after that and though they couldn't run, as Neville wanted, to get to the fourth floor, they moved at a quick walk as he supported half of Mr. Abbott's weight.

O

Remus winched as pain shot through the whole left side of his body as he picked himself off the ground. He couldn't tell how long that they had been fighting but there seemed to be more people on the ground now than still standing facing off against each other. There were now gaping holes in the line of defense of Hogwarts as more people fell prey to the attacks and they had already fallen back twice to fill in the gaps.

He wasn't sure if they were winning or losing, and he wasn't sure if he really cared right now as the fight went on. All that mattered was that Dora was still fighting next to him and he could hear Harry and Ron still shouting curses. Whenever he looked over he could see Sirius fighting … that was all he needed to know right now to keep going, despite the fact that his left arm was broken and useless at the moment and his leg felt like it was on fire … a remembrance of a curse he was hit with.

He turned suddenly as he felt his body tense at some unseen threat, his pain seeming to leave his thought as he felt a rage fill his chest. He saw the figured there, running as if on all fours but he was clearly not an animal.

He wasn't sure but he thought he snarled when he went after the beast that was running towards one of the fallen victims on the ground. There was no thought in his head as he faced the man that had nearly ruined his life completely. The curse he sent at Fenrir Greyback however missed … the other man seeming to have sensed Remus just has much as Remus had sensed him.

"Stay away from them," Remus did snarl this time.

"That's right, boy, let that anger out," Greyback smiled, his mouth covered in blood as he grinned. "You're fighting it, but you know part of you wants to join me."

"You're disgusting!" Remus said. "You're not a man at all anymore."

"Why would I want to merely be a man!" Greyback laughed. "I'm stronger … faster … better than they are."

"But clearly not smarter," Remus said, pushing his instincts that were demanding him to fight Greyback hand to hand, back. He had felt this before when he had been around other werewolves, but it was so much stronger facing Greyback that it was all he could do not to pounce on him.

"Go on … attack me boy," Greyback smiled, reading his thoughts easily. "I created you after all … it's only natural you would want to fight me … I'll kill you like all the others …"

Remus sent a curse at him, and Greyback laughed, jumping out of the way. He continued to taunt Remus, trying to egg him on to a physical fight. Remus knew why he was doing this though, in a fight Greyback would likely win, but in a duel … Remus definitely had the advantage.

"Why don't you just go back to the hell you came from!" Remus growled vindictively and he used the most powerful curse that he knew to send the werewolf flying through the air, hopefully broken to pieces. Remus tried again to control himself, the wolf in him never being so close to the surface while he was still a man and he felt a panic go through him as he fear that maybe he wouldn't be able to control it.

Before he could even try to, he heard footsteps closing in on him and he turned around just in time to see the red light hit him and everything faded to black.

O

Narcissa wasn't sure how it came about that she was so far away from Draco, defending some other passageway into Hogwarts when all she wanted to do was be near her son and make sure nothing happened to him. Somehow Sirius had convinced her that she and Draco would be in more danger if they were near each other. It would make their attempt to hide their appearance by transfiguring their features pointless. She wasn't sure she agreed with that, but she didn't disagree either. Everything seemed to be uncertain in this battle.

She knew one thing though, her sister, was going to be looking for her. And it was best that Draco was no where near her if and when she was found.

She couldn't really understand how none of the Death Eaters that she had face, and there had only been two of them in the long hours since the defensive had been breached, had not known her for who she really was. Did the fact that her hair was black really make it so no one could recognize her? Or perhaps they had just not cared who they were fighting, they were just fighting for the victory.

"Oh, another defender of Hogwarts," the deadly voice said from behind her, and she felt her body stiffed.

It was clear by the tone and the words that she didn't recognize Narcissa any more than the previous Death Eaters had, but once she turned around would be a different story … the voice filled her with fear she hadn't felt in years.

"Frozen in place and I haven't done anything yet," a cold and mad tone entered the voice, "have I finally stumbled along someone I was looking for?" as she mused this Narcissa suddenly found herself turned around, her arms unable to move, and she was staring into the craze eyes of her eldest sister. Bellatrix smiled, a mad amusement in her eyes, "do you really think that disguise would fool me?"

"No," Narcissa answered softly, knowing full well that she was showing too much fear in her expression. Bellatrix strives on fear, but she couldn't control herself. She had always been hopelessly useless against her older sister.

"Do you realized how many people I had to torture and kill before I got to you?" Bellatrix asked.

"None," Narcissa answered and Bellatrix looked at her incredulously, "you didn't have to kill anyone, but that's never stopped you before."

"Do you think you will be any different?" Bellatrix snapped, clearly angered by the way this conversation was going.

Narcissa brought an humorless smile to her face, of course this wasn't going the way that Bellatrix wanted, she would want pleading … want her to beg for mercy … Well, she might not put up a fight, but this was one things she could do to stand up to her sister in a one way at least. "Of course not. You'd do anything he asked you to!"

"DON'T TALK OF HIM!" Bellatrix screeched. "You dare mention that after your betrayal!"

"I was only ever loyal to my family," Narcissa said, and that was the truth. That was way she had ended up with the Death Eaters in the first place, because her parents and sister had been so sure that he was right. And through that she had gotten to know Lucius and that had helped her go even deeper into the whole war. If Draco hadn't changed his allegiance, then she probably would have been standing by her sister fighting with the Death Eaters. Though she feared that she was going to die very soon, she was glad that Draco was braver than she had been … had made the right choice. At least she didn't have any regrets now …

"I'm your family!" Bellatrix said and for one second Narcissa could see the sister she remembered when she was seven, before Bella went to Hogwarts and they had heard of the Dark Lord. She had still been arrogate and cruel, but there had been kindest there too. The look vanished as soon as she saw it and was replaced with an disgusted expression.

"_Avada Kedavra!"_

Narcissa didn't have time to response as shock went through her … she had been expecting to be tortured … played with … but she'll just die …

The thought had went through her mind in a second that she didn't realize that she wasn't dead. That the green light hadn't come from Bellatrix's wand at all. That the voice that had shouted the curse wasn't her sister's mad and bitter tone. That Bellatrix was falling, her wand raised as if she was about to throw a curse, and the shocked and angry expression frozen on her face for all eternity as the life slowly dimmed in her eyes.

"Bellatrix," Narcissa found herself saying, still not comprehending what she was seeing, and she got up to move to her sister without conscious thought.

"S- she … s-she was going to k-kill you," the person that had saved Narcissa said in a shaky voice that was farther confusing her muddled mind. The person sounded sorry, but who would be sorry that Bellatrix Lestranged, the most deranged and dangerous of the Dark Lord's followers was dead.

_Dead_, the word bounced around in Narcissa's mind and she couldn't believe it, and yet the proof of that was right in front of her. She felt tears brim in her eyes as she thought of her sister long ago again.

"I – I killed her," the person said again in a devastated voice, but this time Narcissa recognized it.

"Andy," she croaked out, looking at her other sister … her only reminding sister. The haunted look in Andromeda's eyes made her look so much like Bellatrix had the first time Narcissa had seen her after breaking out of Azkaban. They had always looked so much alike that it was hard to believe that they could be so different in their personalities, but they were nearly complete opposites. Bellatrix could have killed her without remorse. Andromeda, on the other hand, clearly already felt remorseful of killing Bellatrix despite knowing what a truly horrible person their sister was.

"I … she was …" Andromeda said still unable to make sense.

"I know," Narcissa said, picking herself off the ground and walking towards her sister and wrapped her arms around her. "I know … you saved me."

Andromeda didn't answer in words but she seemed to relax almost immediately at the words.

"We can't just stand here …" Narcissa said, her wits returning to her as she remembered they were still in the middle of the battle.

"Of course," Andromeda said, looking at Bellatrix grimacing. "I never got along with her … she tried to kill me and Ted on more than one occasion … she tried to kill my Nymphadora … but I never thought that I would … I'd be the one …" she went on in thick voice.

"I know," Narcissa said again, and then added, not sure if it would help or make things worse, but had to say either way, "at least now she can't hurt anyone else …"

Andromeda nodded her head, spearing one more grim look at her sister and then turned. It was time to get back to the fight and grief will be dealt with later.

**A/N: Wow, so the ending of this chapter didn't happen at all like I thought it would. I mean I had planned for Bellatrix and Narcissa to meet (and maybe even fight) and then I would have had Neville and Molly helping but as soon as I had Narcissa thoughts on hearing Avada Kedavra, this is what came up.**

**Also, I just want to mention that I've been reading the _Song of Fire and Ice_ series for the last month and I blame the way that I have decided to do the last three chapters on that. I seemed to want to do at least one part of the battle in several different characters' pov and show a little of how each of them fight. I don't know if it was the best idea or not, but that's how it worked out. However, the next chapter I'm planning on moving forward with the battle … as in trying to show the bigger picture and not just the fights that have been going on. **


	51. Voldemort VS Dumbledore

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifty-One

Voldemort VS Dumbledore

Voldemort grimaced, another of his Death Eater was dead or incapacitated. Why wasn't he surprised? They were proving to be just as useless to him, he always knew that he was the only one that he could count on. If the fight continues he was likely to lose. Though he had the greater numbers, it seemed that Dumbledore had the better fighters. What had happened to all those seasoned fighters that he was supposed to have. His Death Eaters were being defeated and the other followers he had picked up since returning where not doing even worst.

Of course there had been lost on the other said too. But he still, Dumbledore was still surround by better fighters than he now had left to him.

He was going to have to call Dumbledore out on a one on one fight. Not something that he was looking forward to, but he had little other options left to him now. Once he defeated Dumbledore, then his remaining Death Eater will be able to take the castle. The defenders of Hogwarts will lose their will to fight … their believe that they could win once the old man died. Yes, that's what he had to do.

He stood from his seat, and briskly walked through the now silent town of Hogsmeade, towards the grounds of Hogwarts. As he expected, the mere sight of him, sent all those on the grounds falling back. His Death Eaters snaring at the returning fighters as they came to rally around him. He would have liked to start killing all of the idiots who seemed to think they were do so well just because they had yet to die yet. The Death Eaters laughing at their near incompetence, where nearly as appealing to curse as the fools that choice to fight him. He needed them still, so he only aimed his wand the retreating defenders, smiling as the green light hit several of them.

"That is quite enough," Dumbledore said, appearing on the field in a flash of fiery light along with his phoenix. "I will not allow you to kill anymore people."

"Oh, and you believe you can stop me," Voldemort smiled, the thought was ridiculous, though he had to admit Dumbledore was the only one that had a chance of doing it.

"Is that not why you have been fearful of fighting be in the past, Tom?" Dumbledore asked simply.

Voldemort knew the old man was trying to make him angry, he always insisted on using his 'birth name' to try to make him overact to him. But he wasn't about the old man's trick work. "There had been no reason to destroy you before you. As you kept yourself attached to your school you posed little threat to me."

"I see, and now that you have come to take the school, you find you must fight me," Dumbledore said. "Or is it you know that you will lose if you don't come to face me now?"

"No one will stand to oppose me once you are gone," Voldemort actually answered.

"I think you'll find that there are plenty that will continued to fight, even if I should die today," Dumbledore said. "You have united several people against yourself, and they realized that today is an excellent day for your defeat."

"As if any one could defeat me," Voldemort snorted, "especially once I kill you."

"I see you confidence in your ability has not changed, Tom," Dumbledore sighed. "Nor your willingness to do atrocious things to achieve your goal. If you would have come to face me for the being many lives could have been spared."

"That is little concern to me," Voldemort shrugged, truly indifferent.

"It's a pity that you can't feel remorse for those lives you had destroyed whether through you own actions or those done by your followers," Dumbledore sighed, "It's your last chance Tom …"

"Save you're breath old man," Voldemort broken in, as if he would feel remorse for the pitiful people he had killed. As if this was really his last chance … he wasn't about to be defeated. However this did make his mind travel to his Horcruxes. Dumbledore had been destroying them, he knew, could he have gotten to the last one in Hogwarts too.

"Then I supposed there is nothing left for us to say," Dumbledore sighed gravely and just like that the fight had started.

A fight with Dumbledore was like nothing else. He can use several different point of attacks at once. He never lost focus and he was not easily fooled or distracted. But he was old and confident in his abilities and Voldemort was sure that was were his weakness laid.

Dumbledore pointed his wand downward and a wave seems to go around the grounds surrounding them in a huge circle around them, though the center was where Dumbledore stood. Wary of a what Dumbledore had plan next, Voldemort sent a curse at Dumbledore, knowing that the headmaster would easily dodge it. However, the curse wasn't meant of Dumbledore, it was meant for one of the numerous people behind him. Knowing that Dumbledore couldn't stand watching other be hurt … he won't be able to move in fear of the other suffering so he could fight. Dumbledore was one step ahead of him though, as soon as the curse passed the moving Dumbledore, blades of grass seemed to attack it until it eventually faded long before it even got close to the edge of the circle that Dumbledore had created.

"Must you always involve others in your fight," Dumbledore sighed, shaking his head as if he was disappointed in him for using such tactics. As if he, Lord Voldemort, cared what the foolish old man thought of him.

"Only because you choice to make yourself weak by caring," Voldemort answer coldly.

"As always, we will have to agree to disagree about that," Dumbledore said solemnly, like he always did when the subject of love came up. The old fool really believe that it was some great power but all Voldemort have seen of it lead to people dying and being easily manipulated.

He was done talking, he aimed another curse at Dumbledore, but the grass that Dumbledore had cursed started attacking much sooner and the spell didn't even reach Dumbledore before it dissipated. Dumbledore moved quickly while Voldemort wasn't able to see him clearly due to the grass but he still knew where the old headmaster was going. He shield his side lazily as he cast a strong fire directed at Dumbledore the blades of grass completely useless against this form of attack, burning up before they could disburse the magic but Dumbledore used a charm to block the fire.

Still, Voldemort surrounded the area with fire and nearly at the same time Dumbledore cast a charmed that moisten the air. The fire didn't last long but the cursed grass that was near Dumbledore at least was consumed. The problem was a thick layer of smoke surround the two fighters and he couldn't see where the old man had gotten to. He made a shadow image of himself before quickly moving away from it, casting an Disillusion charm on himself so he could completely disappear from view.

Then quite suddenly there was a great wind and the smoke that had been so thick was blowing away, along with the decoy shadow that he had created. Seemingly out of no where he as knocked to the ground, his arm cut and now bleeding ruining his Disillusion charm.

"Tom, a Disillusion charm in smoke," Dumbledore said shaking his head and Voldemort a flash of pure angry go through him. He was reprimanding Voldemort for his spell choice! (And worse the old bastard was right! Though Voldemort didn't acknowledge this thought). "You are still quite solid after all."

Voldemort muttered a chant causing the burnt ashes transfigure into a nest of snakes and he hissed his command for them to kill Dumbledore. If it wasn't for the stupid phoenix this would have been a more aggressive attack, but Dumbledore barely even paid attention to the snakes and Voldemort attacked him. Fawkes was whooping in and out of the lines between them as quick as flash remove several snakes at a time until they were all gone. Voldemort didn't have the chance to curse the bird because Dumbledore was fighting to fiercely for him to think of such matters.

_If Nagini was here she would have killed that bird, _Voldemort thought, feeling a slight touch of regret for his snake that had been with him for years and who have been of use to him in this fight. And even more of use as an anchor to life, but he pushed this thoughts aside as he continued fighting.

He wasn't sure how long that they fought, but finally he was able to get the advantage one of his curse it the headmaster foot and froze him to the place. His next curse knocked Dumbledore to the ground and there was a sickening creak as the old man's leg broke. Dumbledore was still fighting, sending curses at him but Voldemort easily deflected him, stoking towards the strongest wizard the light side to offer and he knew that he would win this duel.

"Crucio!" he said with relish and watch t_he great wizard_ wither in pain at his feet. He lift the curse only so he could cast the cutting curse, slicing up Dumbledore's arm so it would no longer be able to work properly. "Any more words of wisdom for me Dumbledore."

"You were never one for wisdom, Tom," Dumbledore said and Voldemort cursed him again. This time when it the curse was lifted Dumbledore said in a cracked voice, though the old man never screamed (which took a strength that Voldemort had never seen in someone curse by him). "Killing me will only seal your fate Tom. You can't win."

Voldemort smiled, he never would have thought Dumbledore would beg for his life, this was too much. Oh it was in a high and mighty way, but Dumbledore was still trying to get him to spare him. "I have no mercy … and if you listen to the crowd … I've already won …"

He said and it was true. Everyone in the crowd had gasped when Dumbledore had fallen … there were shout of horror as Voldemort tormented the old man. All that was waiting was the final curse. He looked at Dumbledore who seemed to be trying to move his arm … trying to curse him and kicked the broken and bloody arm sending the wand in Dumbledore's hand flying away.

"You lose," Voldemort smirked, but Dumbledore didn't look afraid like everyone that knew they were about to be killed by his hand do. He looked defiant. It wasn't hard to summon the anger to fill his curse. "Avada Kedavra!"

The spell hit Dumbledore squarely in the chest and he felt to the ground lifeless, but his blue eyes were still on Voldemort as if telling him that he was going to lose … that he had sealed his fate. But what did he know. He had dead at Voldemort hands and all his great plans were ruin now. He turned away from the fool that thought he could defeat him and to the crowd of Hogwarts defenders that had witness this. They gave him the fear that he wanted to see … the despair It was so clear that he knew Dumbledore was wrong and they had given in to their defeat.

"Your great champion has fallen!" Voldemort gloated, as smile spreading across his face at the victory. The old fool had finally dead and he had now one left to worry about. Of course he will have to go and find the boy, Harry Potter, but that was a little matter. He had just one the war in one fair swoop. "You have no chance of winning the fight now! Surrender and you will live! Continue fighting and I make sure that every single one of you are killed!"

Voldemort looked at the faces of the defends again, all of them were devastated and seemed unable to believe the old fool had really been killed. They didn't seemed to even be listening to him, but that didn't bother him, it might be better if they were all killed after all.

"Which would be a better fate than living in whatever world you'll try to reign in," a voice said from in the crowds and then a boy stood in front of the others, his green eyes boring into Voldemort own. It seemed he would not have to look for the boy after all.

"Harry Potter!" Voldemort said, an amused smirk on his lips.

"Harry no!" he could hear people shouting behind the boy. They clearly didn't want him to face him. He didn't blame them, of course the boy will be killed. But surely they must have realized that was going to happen either way.

"You should not have come in front of me, Harry, you might have lived a few more hours if you had not," Voldemort said.

"I can't live while you're still alive, Riddle," Harry said.

"You dare call me that!" Voldemort hissed, his eyes flashing bright red in his angry. Dumbledore had been one thing, but this boy dared to use that filthy muggle name for him! "I am Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard alive! I killed Albus Dumbledore! You are nothing but a boy who cowered behind stronger people and watched as I killed them!"

He could see the pain his words had caused in the boy but it had vanished almost immediately into a determined look.

"I never claimed to be anything!" Harry said to Voldemort. "I never wanted people to follow me! I never wanted people looking at me to save them. I never wanted any of it."

"Are you trying to plead me to spare your life?" Voldemort questioned, a humorless smile on his lips. It was almost as funny hearing this from the boy as it had been from Dumbledore. As if that would ever let either one of them live.

"As if I would believe you to show any mercy," Harry scoffed. "I never asked for any of that. You were the one that made me that person. All the destruction you caused in my life … in the lives of so many others is why I stand in front of you now. And because you still believe that I'm just a boy and yet fear me all the same I will defeat you."

"Fear you!" Voldemort laughed, a chilling laugh that caused most to feel a trickle of fear, though the Death Eaters that were still behind him seemed to join in his laughter. The fools. The boy really had gone mad to think that he, Lord Voldemort feared him. He feared no one. And he was going to prove it. He flicked his wand as quickly as a snake bites and the curse was flying at the boy.

But Harry must have been expecting the move because he sent a stunning charm to meet the killing curse that Voldemort had sent at him. When the spells had met halfway between them, it was like two years ago all over again. The curses combined, connecting them to each other.

"Watch out Riddle, you're showing some of your fear," Harry gloated.

"You think you're special boy!" Voldemort snarled, trying to break the connection between the two wands but no matter what he did he couldn't break loose. "You're hiding behind the twin cores. Do you really think you can defeat me just because your wand can stall mine."

Harry laughed, "you can't even break the connection can you."

"Argh!" Voldemort shouted, a fury so powerful that it seemed to have physically manifest as boy mocked him. He couldn't let Harry Potter, a sixteen year old boy make him look like a fool. He will finally get rid of the annoying child that should have died fifteen years ago. The power from his scream had helped him, it had knocked several people to the ground, Harry among them.

"NO!" Harry shouted as Voldemort throw away his wand of yew, the one that was the brother to boy's own wand and picked up the wand that laid on the ground, fallen a few feet away from where it's old master laid dead to the world. It was somewhat fitting that it would be Dumbledore's wand that defeated the last hope of the light side.

"Looks like you'll no longer be able to stop me now," Voldemort smiled triumphantly. _What a foolish boy to believe that he could defeat me just because of his wand … and now at least there will be no one that will ever be able to stop me now!_ He relished the words as he said, "_Avada Kedavra!_"


	52. The Plan

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifty-Two

The Plan

_Why did it have to be this way?_ Harry thought as tears rolled down his eyes, understanding coming to him too late for him to change what was about to take place.

"Harry?" Ron said standing next to him, he had the unconscious Hermione in his hand as if he couldn't bare to let her go. Harry looked at his friend, turning his eyes away for the duel that was about to take place because he had to explain, but all he seemed to be able to see was Hermione falling to the ground. She had pushed Ron out of the way of a curse only to get hit herself and for a moment Harry had feared the worst was going to happen. But Hermione had not been killed, they just didn't know how to wake her up. The two of them stayed close to her as a few more Death Eaters came after them.

The watched in shock as Remus broke ranks and rushed after someone … they couldn't tell who, but they did see the Death Eaters pack going to meet him. Harry had shouted for Remus to come back, but the werewolf was far to gone for him to hear the yell. Sirius, Tonks and Emmeline had heard though, and had gone to help their friend. It was then that Harry knew they couldn't just stand there and he turned to Ron, who had already picked up Hermione without a word needed between the two of them and the started heading back to the castle.

When they had got to the doors, Harry turned to look for Sirius and the others and was glad to see them coming back too, Remus seeming to be on Sirius back as they retreated. What he didn't like seeing was that everyone had turned to head back to the castle and the green lights started flashing as Voldemort had made his appearance on the battle field at last.

And then Dumbledore was there too, stopping the killing of the retreating people facing off between Voldemort. However, Harry felt a sense of foreboding as soon as he seen Dumbledore's wand.

"Harry!" Ron said again, and when Harry's eyes met his, his friends looked worried. "What's wrong?"

"Dumbledore … he's …. he's going to lose," Harry said a sharp pain stabbing him at the words but he knew they were true. "And when he does, I'm going to have to go out there and take his place. I'm going to have to fight Voldemort."

"Have you gone mad?" Ron asked, seeming to hope more that was the case and Harry didn't blame him. He wish he had gone mad, then he wouldn't have to fight anymore. When he saw how determined Harry was he tried again, "Harry, Dumbledore won't lose … he can't, he's Dumbledore."

"Look at his wand," Harry said and Ron looked more confused than ever.

"His wand," Ron turned to the fight that was now in full force, quite the spectacle to see but neither boy paid much attention to it. Ron looked at the wand far in the distance and back at Harry still not sure what was going on.

"It means I'm going to have to fight," Harry said simply, "and you're going to have to let me do it alone."

"Harry," Ron shook his head, if Harry was right and Dumbledore would lose, that didn't mean that Ron would just let him walk into a fight alone. "I'm not going to let you …"

"I'm going to win," Harry said a sad determined look in his eye. "It's part of a plan. I'm just telling you that you need to let me go."

Ron face showed the reluctance of granting what Harry wanted, his eyes telling Harry not to do this, but he nodded his head all the same. "If you get killed Harry, I'll never forgive you."

"I know," Harry rested his hand on Ron's shoulder, before looking down at Hermione, who was still in Ron's arms, but his friend didn't seem to notice her weight at all as they had talked. His friends, the ones that had always kept him safe from the dementors and allowed him to have brief moments of a normal life, was who he was thinking about as he started making his way through the crowd of defenders watching the greatest duel of the century.

Though he was watching this too, his mind wasn't on the fighting wizards but on a duel he had against Dumbledore weeks before. Dumbledore had been teaching him all year, but for the last month he had been dueling the headmaster for real.

"_This is not a game Harry," Dumbledore had said, "you have to use every ingenuity that you possess and all that I have taught you. You have to want to defeat me with everything you have, because until you are able to do that, you won't be able to fight Voldemort." _

"_It will be different fighting him even if I do think that way, won't it?" Harry had asked after the third time trying to duel with Dumbledore and getting cursed more times then can remember. _

"_When you fight me Harry, are you afraid?" Dumbledore asked back and Harry shook his head. He didn't fear Dumbledore, though he knew he wasn't going to win any duel they fight. "What about when you face Voldemort?" _

"_Yes I'm afraid," Harry admitted because there was no point in denying that fact. He had been terrified every time that he faced Voldemort. _

"_So why is it that you were able to face him in a fight?" Dumbledore asked. _

"_Because if I don't face him, he'll kill me anyways," Harry answered. "And I'm not going to die cowering." _

"_In other words, you draw strength from your fear," Dumbledore smiled kindly. "It's a very rare and valuable gift for one to be able to master their fear and use it to help them, but you, Harry, have that talent in abundance. _

"_Now if only I were able to get that to show our duels," Dumbledore now sighed. _

"_I'm sorry," Harry sighed as well. "I'm trying as hard as I can …"_

"_I know Harry," Dumbledore sighed smiling again. "And you are doing remarkably well. I just wish I knew how to channel the depth of your strength so we can work on a way for you to bring that out at your will." _

_The next meeting Harry had was so completely different than all the others. As soon as Harry had walked through the Headmaster's door he was transported to some dark forest. He didn't have time to wonder how that had happened because he was being attacked. His instincts took over as he used all Dumbledore had taught him while remaining true to his own style of fighting. It was difficult, he had been hit by a curse at one point, but it wasn't too serious … no the worst pain he had was in his left leg were a piece of wood that came off of a tree had ledge itself there, causing Harry to limp when he walked. But finally he was able to disarm the Death Eater he was fighting against._

_As the scenery around him had started to change, going back to the offices he knew well by now, he realized that he should have known that it was impossible for him to be transported out of Hogwarts. He knew that couldn't happen, so why hadn't he realized that before now. _

"_I put a mild confoundus curse on the door so you would believe what your eyes saw without questioning it," Dumbledore voice said, from the mask Death Eater that was standing in front of Harry wandless. He pulled off the mask and then the robes and he beamed at Harry. "It seems you have learned a great deal Harry." _

"_I … disarmed … you?" Harry said the words as if they couldn't possible be true. _

"_I must say, I had not seen that form of attack coming," Dumbledore nodded his head and picked up his wand his eyes lingering on it for a few seconds before he put it in the pocket of his robe. "I thought a brisk fight with a Death Eater might prove to trigger some of your gift and you did not disappoint me. I can see now that you are ready for the fight that will be coming shortly." _

"_Right," Harry said a little put out now that Dumbledore had tricked him like that. _

"_Though you still need to keep dueling Harry, there were a few times that you have dropped your guard in your fight," Dumbledore said wanting to make sure that Harry didn't get too confident. "Remember, if you are fighting Voldemort or any of his strongest lieutenant they will not miss with the curse that I sent after you."_

"_Hmph … well you could have missed a little better, this is killing me," Harry said gesturing to his leg and Dumbledore looked at it gravely before pulling the piece of wood out of it and before Harry had time to do more than flinch, Fawkes was perched on his knee, a tear falling on the wound and it closed up. _

"_Forgive me Harry, I did not intend for you to be hurt," Dumbledore sighed. _

"_I know," Harry said, smiling at Fawkes as way to say thank you. _

That had been the last time that he and Dumbledore had a meeting, the last time that he had seen his headmaster up close since a few hours when he had talked to him before all the fighting had started. And yet it was clear to him as soon as he saw Dumbledore's wand right now, what must have happened. For Dumbledore wasn't fighting with the Elder wand he had been using since Harry had known him, he was using a differently wand, likely the one he had bought when he was younger when he first went to Hogwarts.

He remembered again the look on Dumbledore's face when he had picked up the Elder wand after Harry had disarmed him, he had grimaced. It was probably in that moment that Dumbledore felt a change but he had not let Harry known about that at all. Perhaps he was reading too much into all of this, and when he got out there to face Voldemort he would be wrong and there would be nothing he could do to defend himself! Panic started to fill in him, but even as it did he felt his courage coming to him, his steps picking up. It was like Dumbledore said, when he was most afraid he also become his most determined.

But nothing could stop his heart from sinking when it really happened. When Dumbledore had fallen on his knees … and even in that weaken state looked straight at Voldemort his wand dropping from his hand … the way it moved slowly towards the ground, not the wand Dumbledore had been dueling with, but the Elder wand and what was making it's way to the ground. And then Dumbledore was falling too, the curse by Voldemort being lost in the many cries of shock of the defenders of Hogwarts, but the flash of green was unmistakable.

Harry had know what was to come before it had happened, but still it was hard to believe what he was seeing. Dumbledore was died! Voldemort was smiling triumphantly over him. Part of him thought Dumbledore was only feinting defeat … would get up at any second …

But the truth was, it was Harry's turn now. He had to face the monster that had killed his parents … that had just killed the greatest wizard that Harry had ever known. And he would be able to do it, because that great wizard had given the last tool he will need … he just wish it didn't have to come at such a high price.

"Your great champion has fallen!" Voldemort was saying to the crowd, in a gloating voice and Harry felt his angry start to raise, but he continued to walk calmly towards the dark wizard. Of course Voldemort would boast … he will try to break the spirit of all those that still want to oppose him. But Harry wasn't going to let that happen. "You have no chance of winning the fight now! Surrender and you will live! Continue fighting and I make sure that every single one of you are killed!"

"Which would be a better fate than living in whatever world you'll try to reign in," Harry said, finally making his way by all of the defenders of Hogwarts and looked at Voldemort face to face. It was nothing like last year when he worried he might really died when Voldemort cast the killing curse at him. He couldn't have fought that day, wither he did survived or not, the horcrux in him had to be destroy so let it happened. Today, one way or the other, was the last fight between them.

"Harry Potter!" Voldemort said, an amused smirk on his lips.

"Harry no!" he could hear people shouting behind him, it was hard to tell since it seemed that several people were saying something to him. Telling him to not face Voldemort alone as he knew he must. So he didn't listen to them.

"You should not have come in front of me Harry, you might of lived a few more hours if you had not."

"I can't live while you're still alive, Riddle," Harry said and as soon as he said it he knew it was true. He had only glimpses of a normal life and ever since he was eleven, Voldemort had been pledging him.

"You dare call me that!" Voldemort hissed, his eyes flashing bright red in his angry. "I am Lord Voldemort, the most powerful wizard alive. I killed Albus Dumbledore! You are nothing but a boy who cowered behind stronger people and watched as I killed them!"

A pain went through Harry as he thought of those he had lost, and Dumbledore coming to his mind as he wished that he could have saved his headmaster somehow. But he shook that thought out of his mind as quickly as it came, the grief still there but he would not let it take over him. Dumbledore had died, he was sure, knowing that Harry would defeat Voldemort. Harry wasn't about to disappoint him now.

"I never claimed to be anything!" Harry said to Voldemort, he wasn't sure where the words were coming from, but it was time to let everything out. "I never wanted people to follow me! I never wanted people looking at me to save them. I never wanted any of it."

"Are you trying to plead me to spare your life?" Voldemort questioned, a humorless smile on his lips.

"As if I would believe you to show any mercy," Harry scoffed. "I never asked for any of that. You were the one that made me that person. All the destruction you caused in my life … in the lives of so many others is why I stand in front of you now. And because you still believe that I'm just a boy and yet fear me all the same I will defeat you."

The last words, filled with as much bravo as he could muster was his attempted to angry Voldemort and it clearly worked.

"Fear you!" Voldemort laughed, a chilling laugh that caused most to feel a trickle of fear, though the Death Eaters that were still behind Voldemort seemed to join in the laughter.

It was quick, but Harry had been expecting the move so he sent the stunning charm to meet the killing curse that Voldemort had aimed at him. When the spells had met halfway between them, Harry wasn't surprised to see that what had happened two years ago in the graveyard started all over again.

"Watch out Riddle, you're showing some of your fear," Harry gloated, pushing Voldemort farther, and trying to make it even more obvious that the wand that Voldemort had would not be of any use in this fight.

"You think you're special boy!" Voldemort snarled, trying to break the connection between the two wands but no matter what he did he couldn't break loose. "You're hiding behind the twin cores. Do you really think you can defeat me just because your wand can stall mine."

Harry laughed, though he feared he was becoming too reckless, "you can't even break the connection can you."

"Argh!" Voldemort shouted, a fury so powerful that it seemed to have physically manifest as it had knocked several people to the ground, Harry going down among them.

"NO!" Harry shouted as Voldemort throw away his wand of yew, the one that was the brother to his own wand and picked up the Elder wand. Harry's heart pounded in his chest. _And here's where we find out if your plan worked Dumbledore,_ he thought as Voldemort waved his wand in a triumphant glee.

_"Avada Kedavra!_"

_"Expelliarmus!_" he shouted back and just before Voldemort spell was going to hit him.

The curse rebounded … the Elder wand flying through the air …

But Voldemort was not dead. He had moved out of the way of the rebounded curse …

Wandless and a look of fear in his eyes and yet still alive.

Harry thought of everything Voldemort had ever done to him, all the pain he had caused and mustered himself to use Killing Curse. Voldemort, wandless, weakened as he was, could not be allowed to live. Harry was going to have to kill him … it had to be done and he was the only o …

_"Avada Kedavra!"_

Harry watched as the green light hit Voldemort his face widening it a moment of shock and for just a second he must have realized all of his Horcruxes were destroyed and this was his really death. And then he was was gone … his lifeless body fallen to the ground.

It was only when he was sure that Voldemort was dead that Harry turned to look at the person that had killed Voldemort for him. It was surprising and not surprising to see that it had been Severus Snape. An odd arrange of emotions on his usually smooth face. Harry felt a sense of relief fill him as he continued to gape at Snape, and he was glad that he had not killed an unarmed man even one that had deserved so much worse as Voldemort had.

And then there were screams coming form all over the place.

The defenders of Hogwarts were rushing forward, coming to embrace Harry (and he could even see people going to hug Snape, though the Potions Master didn't seem to appreciate it).

"You did it Harry!" Ron shouted, the first to have reached Harry and giving him a bear hug that was worse than any Molly had given him. Then other was surrounding him and he was being hugged by all of the other too. It was a few minutes later that he found himself hugging Hermione, who had been relived somehow it would seem, her eyes teary and he realized so was his with everything that was going through his head. The one thing that seemed to stick though, was that it was all over now. And they had survived.

**A/N: I know, I really was evil to end the last chapter like that, I never planned on it, it's just what happened after I started writing. This ending seemed to be a little awkward to me, but I'll have more explanation about what happened in the next chapter. I'm also sorry about the Voldemort Dumbledore fight, I don't really know how to write a duel as great as that fight should be, and it didn't help at all that I've been writing so many other duels before that taking a lot of my creative ideas with it.  
**


	53. Surviving

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifty-Three

Surviving

"There will be time for cheering and celebrating later, but there's still a battle going on here," Alastor Moody said, his voice slightly more gruff than normal. "The Death Eaters are fleeing … we can't just let them get away."

There were a good number of people that couldn't hear this, including Harry who was being surrounded by people though the only one's he really knew were there was Ron and Hermione. However, the people on the outskirt of the celebration had heard Moody's call and turned to round up the Death Eaters that were now running back towards Hogsmeade. Before they got too far however, they were met by the those that had learned of the fight but were unable to get into Hogwarts before the battle started.

At the sight of them, a quarter of the remaining Death Eater army laid down their wands, likely they were the ones that had been pushed into helping. The other three quarters tried to fight their way through, and for the most part were unable to do so. They had been fighting for hours after all and this knew force, plus the one that was following them from the rear was too much for them.

As that fight was winding down outside there was still several fights going on in the castle where neither side knew that Voldemort was dead and that the battle was won. However, with the help of some of the fighters from outside of the castle, the defenders of Hogwarts were able to finish the reminding Death Eaters within Hogwarts and though it took another hour before the fighting was officially stopped in the end the battle was finished.

All Harry knew throughout this time was that several people came up to him, congratulating him for defeating Voldemort. They didn't seemed to be concerned at all that he had not actually killed Voldemort … that they should be thanking Snape as well … as they patted him on the back saying how awed they were in him facing down the most powerful dark wizard of all time. Then they would tell him how his bravery to stand up against Voldemort (or more often than not they would say You-Know-Who) after Dumbledore had been defeated had filled them with hope.

It was too much for Harry to take in, he found himself smiling at them and nodding his head but not really paying attention to what they were saying. He was also aware the whole time that something wasn't quite right. He was surrounded by well wishers, but the people that he cared about most, other than Ron and Hermione who were standing behind him, hadn't come to see him. He had no idea how long he had been standing there but as soon as he realized this he tried looking around for those people and saw none.

"Sorry," Harry shouted over the hordes of people, reach behind him and grabbed Ron's arm and started dragging him and Ron seemed to do the same with Hermione. The crowd didn't seem pleased that he was leaving, but they gave him a path to use all the same. However, it seemed like they were going to follow him as he looked for the love ones he so desperately needed to find.

"HARRY!" Sirius was the first he found, coming back from the grounds where Harry only now noticed still had fighting going on … or at least it had very recently. That thought was drown out as Sirius embraced him nearly crushing his bones. "Have you gone mad … what were you thinking facing Voldemort alone like that …!" Sirius continued, and Harry could feel his godfather shudder as he cried and laughed at the same time. "You nearly gave me heartfailure … don't ever do that again!"

"I don't plan on it," Harry laughed, hugging Sirius back as hard as he could, "I think I'll try for normal life from now on."

"Sounds brilliant," Sirius beamed, looking at him with pride.

Harry probably would have stayed there for longer, but there were so many other people he was worried about … needed to see to make sure that they survived. It was then that he heard the commotion coming from his left as Ron hugged his Dad, then moved on to Bill … Percy … Fluer … Charlie … and then quiet suddenly he found himself doing the same with all of the Weasley that had been on the grounds during the fight. Words of elation shared for a brief moment before as one it seemed that they all turned towards the castle to find those that were missing.

"Where Tonks …?" Harry started to ask Sirius.

"She and Em went to take Remus to Pomfrey and the other nurses," Sirius answered before he could even finish asking. "He'll be okay … stupid git that he was for running off like that … but Tonks needed to make sure that it was nothing serious."

"Good," Harry sighed a breath of relief that Remus was okay.

"Should we go there too," Hermione asked, "that's probably were everyone is going to go … and we don't know where the others might be."

Harry wasn't sure if he wanted to go to where the injured people were gathered, but he didn't have any better plan. He had given Ginny his map, which meant that he couldn't find her now and that seemed to be the one he really needed to see.

"I suppose," was all he said to that.

When they got to the room they quickly scanned the area for familiar faces and there were more than they could count. There were a lot of people inside the room, some people were unconscious … some had been transfigured or clearly cursed … others still where bleeding … Harry saw the faces of many of his classmates, hurt and scared but thankfully alive. The shock of red from the corner of the room seemed to attract his group attention and they all head for it. (The group of people that had still been following Harry trying to congratulate him seemed to disperse some now too as they went to find friends and family that had been hurt).

"If you ever do something that stupid again I'll kill you myself!" One of the twins was shouting as he looked down at the other.

"I wasn't about to let you get hit by a curse …" the other twin said.

"GEORGE!" Fred shouted reaching down and shaking his injured brother, "Do you think it would have done me any favors if you would have been killed saving me! You git! You weren't even letting me fight at all! Always jumping to try to save me! What was the bloody point of all that!"

"I wasn't going to let you get hit," George repeated stubbornly.

Arthur knelt down and put his arm on Fred's shoulder than, stalling their argument and Fred turned to see who was there and before he was new it he was engulfed by a hug from his father. The rest of the Weasley did the same, hugging Fred first, all seeming to be relieved beyond belief that they didn't have to lose him. They then hugged the injured George gingerly not wanting to hurt him more, though they weren't sure what had happened to him.

"Well that's just bloody great," Fred huffed in annoyance. "Now you gone and make George think the was right!"

"That's because I was," George said grinning ear to ear (which he was very glad that he still had two of) and Fred couldn't help but smile back. George might have been a git, but they had both made it through the fight so it was a lot harder to stay angry with him.

"Where's your mother and Ginny?" Arthur asked, an anxious look on his face. Fred and George's expression both faltered as they shook their head saying that they hadn't seen them yet.

Harry couldn't stand the thought of just waiting there for them to show up and turned to walk out of the room again, thoughts of searching the castle filling his head.

"Mate, we shouldn't leave," Ron said his eyes traveled to Hermione who, though she was trying to hide it, was starting to show signs that she was feeling the effects of the curse she had been hit with.

"I can't just sit here," Harry groaned miserably, knowing that's what he should do … that was all he could right now because he had no idea where to go but his mind was filling his head with images of a horror waiting for him somewhere in the castle … It was all he would be able to think of if he was going to stay in one place.

"I …" Ron started to say but Harry turned to look at the door that opened slightly to the right of Ron and the last bit of worry and dread left him as he saw her scanning the room until her eyes landed on his.

They moved at the same time to one another, Ginny's red hair flowing like fire behind her as she quickened her pace to get to Harry faster. And then she was in his arms and he was kissing her like he never had before. There was no longer the threat that this might be the last time he could do this … that he might been killed in the near future … He had a future now. He could see it all, the last chapter of the book and so much more, where he'll have a life … a true life were he can really be alive in.

"As nice as it is to watch you snog the life out of my sister, Potter, the rest of us will like hug her as well," Ron said without really bite.

Still, Harry let go of Ginny, grinning broadly as he shrugged at his friend. Ginny then walked to Ron, punched him on the shoulder hard before hugging him. It was was true that she needed to embrace her family … make sure that they were all there and safe.

"Where's your mom?" Arthur asked as he hugged his little girl, though he was pleased to see his daughter, it filled him with fear that Molly wasn't with her. He knew that Molly never would have let Ginny out of her sight …

"She's right outside helping Neville," Ginny answered, "There wasn't much room in here anymore …"

"Is Neville alright?" Hermione asked, as most of the Weasley walk out of the room through the doors that Ginny had just come through, needing to see with their own eyes that their whole family had made it out of this. Harry, Ron, Hermione and Ginny doing the same at the back of the pack.

"Yeah … I mean it's bad … but mum said it wasn't life threatening," Ginny said biting her lips.

"Did the Death Eater break the defenses on the Transfiguration classroom?" Ron asked next and Ginny nodded her head.

"They were torturing Neville when we got there," she said quietly, "even so, as soon as he was free of the curse he helped Luna fight one of the Death Eaters. And afterward I used the map to find the younger students alone with Dobby, Hannah Abbott and Mrs. Longbottom and we all went after them to make sure they wouldn't be attacked by anyone. Neville had to nearly carry Mr. Abbott …. he'd been cursed you see. He wanted to be left behind but Neville wasn't going to let it happen, and I don't blame him. The Death Eaters were using killing curses on anyone that was left on the ground … making sure that everyone was dead."

The trio all flinched at those words as they wondered how many people had dead that way … had dead period in this battle.

"Anyways, it was a good thing we were all running to help the others because they ended up being found by a pretty big group of Death Eaters," Ginny went on say. "I'm not really sure what happened after that because I was fighting and all, but I remember seeing him get hit by something as he was trying to shield the younger students … I think one of the Death Eaters were going to kill him but this second year boy disarmed the Death Eater before he could and then all of the younger students started fighting and we were pretty much safe after that."

"Right," Harry nodded, glad that his friend had not been killed and then he saw Molly Weasley muttering over the the unconscious Neville, and Harry felt that everything was perfect.

"Molly, you look exhausted, let me take over," Andromeda Tonks said resting her hand of Molly's shoulder, something that Arthur and the rest of the Weasley seemed to be reluctant to do as she was working but also wishing they could just embrace their wife and mother. "Besides, I think your family might burst if you don't go to them soon."

"My …" Molly started to say, her concentration still on her wand work until Andromeda started her own and she could actually relax. That was all it too for Molly to turn suddenly to look at her family all standing behind Even George, who Charlie and Fred were supporting so he could stand straight was there and smiling. Then she was hugging them all, even Harry and Hermione as she cried tears of relief that they were all there and safe.

O

The next day Harry found himself sitting in McGonagall's office, as the elder witch expression was a mixture of emotions just like everyone else he had seen today. Ron and Hermione were of course with him as well as Ginny, who he wasn't planning on leaving out of his sight any time soon. Everyone was tired as they had mourned those that had been lost in the war and celebrated the fact that they war had actually ended.

"Perhaps I should have given you a few more hours to sleep in," McGonagall said as she took in their expression, her eyes were red and Harry was sure she had cried more than a little over the lost of Dumbledore and probably almost as much over the the lost of the students that had died fighting.

"No … it's okay," Harry said. "Er … Professor … how many people were …?" he trail off finding it hard to finish the question he was asking.

"Twenty-nine," McGonagall didn't seem to need to hear the question to answer it. Her eyes soften as she sat up straighter, "Twenty-nine people lost their lives on our side and forty Death Eaters. There were several serious injures on both side, but everyone one being cared for now are expected to heal."

"Do we know if any of the Death Eaters had escaped after the fight?" Harry asked.

"Unfortunately there had been a few that were able to escape, though thanks to your suggest, Al-Albus," she started to say but nearly choked off at saying the name of her friend and mentor, "he was able to make communication with the others outside of Hogwarts and made sure they surrounded the Death Eaters that were still standing after your duel with …" she paused again, seeming to steal herself to do something and said, "with V-Voldemort."

"So must of the Death Eaters were re-captured or killed?" Ron asked.

"Yes, must were," McGonagall said, "Kingsley has informed me that he had sent Tonks and Alastor to try to track the Death Eaters that had left as the rest of the Aurors he had contacted have come to escourt the Death Eaters we have captured to Azkaban or the holding cells in the Ministry. All the known Death Eaters are the ones that have been sent straight to Azkaban to serve out the terms they already had. The rest … according to Kingsley are going to be difficult to decide how harshly they should be sentence. Half of the people that were fighting against us do so because the threat that their family would be killed if they did not. Other will just use that excuse as they had done at the end of the last year. Unfortunately … some might get a lighter sentence than they deserve …"

"They should all go to Azkaban," Ron said harshly.

"Perhaps you are right," McGonagall didn't have the heart to argue with him. "However, this is not the reason that I have asked to see you today Potter … Harry," the use of his first name seemed to resolve all of her normal briskness. She wasn't just their Professor anymore, but someone that had fought with them through this most difficult time. "I found this on my desk this morning and I felt that you would want to see this as quickly as possible."

Harry reached out to grab the bundle that McGonagall was handing him, a red feather that he recognized belonged to Fawkes was laying on it and he knew this was from Dumbledore. He quickly unrolled the parchment and as he did so a vial fell into his lap, shining as all memories seem to do when they were bottled up. He held the memory in his hand as he read the letter.

_There is a part of me that wishes this letter will never have to reach you, and yet I fear that in the end it will. And if that is indeed true, I feel there are few things that I'd like you to know. And the most important Harry, is that I'm proud of what I know you have accomplish. Please, look into my memory._

_Albus_

Harry turned over the note slightly disappointed that there was nothing else written on it. He wasn't sure what the memories that Dumbledore left he would show but he knew he should follow Dumbledore's advise and visit them. That it might help relieve the pain he felt over the headmaster's death.

"Do you have a Pensieve?" Harry asked McGonagall as he looked up from the letter and found that it was already on the desk. Harry swallowed as he poured the memories into the pensieve and prepared himself to go into what was probably some of the last memories that Dumbledore had.

**A/N: I realized that if I was going to be realistic with the Battle at Hogwarts more of the main characters would have died in the fight, however, I couldn't think of anyone that I could kill off without feeling horrible about. Well, besides Dumbledore obviously, I didn't want to kill him of either, but there will be more why I did that in the next chapter. Still, back to the pointed I was trying to say, I understand why JK ended the book the way she did, killing so many of our (and even more so _Her_) beloved characters. It's more realistic and makes more of an impact on how horrible the war she was portraying was. However, since I was doing the changing the future story line and things are supposed to end up better, I totally feel comfortable in throwing out realistic and letting the characters that we all care about live.**


	54. Dumbledore's Memories

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifty-Four

Dumbledore's Memories

Harry landed in the Headmaster's room that he had visited so often this year. Dumbledore was sitting behind his desk as if he was just waiting for Harry to come.

"Hello Harry," Dumbledore said and Harry turned, expecting to see himself walk through the door as this was a memory. But no other Harry came and when he turned back he saw an amused and yet sad expression on the Headmaster's face.

"This is not an ordinary memory Harry," Dumbledore said and Harry knew that he was talking to him, that this wasn't just going to be viewing what Dumbledore had done but he was going to tell Harry things. He didn't know that this was even possible but if anyone could do that it was Dumbledore. "I had hoped that you would never have to experience this memory, but I felt that it was best if I was prepared just in case. Please Harry have a seat."

Harry felt odd listening to this, wishing he could ask question but knowing the Dumbledore, despite the fact that he was talking to him, was still just a memory and wouldn't be able to answer his question. However, he did sit down, the memory Dumbledore seemed to give a few minutes until he directed his eyes to the seat that Harry was in and it was clear this was why the headmaster asked him to sit. So the memory would be looking at Harry while he tried to explain things to him.

"Since the last time I had duel you, Harry, where I had decided to test your abilities and see how much you have grown since I started teaching you, I have found that the Elder wand no longer worked for me properly," Dumbledore explained his eyes were on Harry's exactly and it was almost easy to forget that this was just a memory.

"I'm sorry," Harry found himself saying as if he was talking to the real Dumbledore, if he had not disarmed Dumbledore … maybe he would be here right now.

"I do not blame you," Dumbledore said as if he was really responding to Harry, he must have known what Harry would have thought. "I was the one that tested you in that means and had been caught off guard the moment that you had countered my attack in the way you had. Despite what you might believe, I have never been prouder of any my students for the skill you had shown in that moment Harry.

"I knew as soon as I touched the Elder wand after you had disarmed me that it no longer belonged to me," Dumbledore went on after a few seconds of silence. "I have always found that the Disarming Charm was an interesting one, especially when it comes to ownership of a wand. As I'm sure you had noticed after last year and your first DA lessons when you taught this spell, that you and your friends' wand didn't switch loyalty just because they had been disarmed. I have often thought that this was because, like so many other aspect of magic, the intent of the witch or wizard was important in casting this spell. I theorize that because both the wizard trying to disarm and the wizard being disarm, understand that this is just practice and not a real struggle that the wand understands that it's not truing being defeated."

"I supposed that makes sense," Harry muttered to himself, having noticed as Dumbledore had said that the wand in the DA lesson never did seemed to stop working for their original owner.

"Which might help to explain why when you disarmed me that the Elder wand had then became yours," Dumbledore said, "for at the time you believe that you were fighting against a Death Eaters. Or perhaps it's the simplest explanation that the Elder wand easily changes it's allegiance, which might very well be the case. The Elder wand had passed hands so many times that might be easily won at the slightest sign it's old master being beaten.

"As it was, all I really knew after that duel was that the wand no longer belonged to me," Dumbledore sighed. "I have never been one to believe in prophecy completely. I always felt that it is the fact that we believe in the prophecy that makes it come true. However, I'm not going to ignore the signs that have come to be now, I wonder that perhaps some things are fated to happen. If that is the case, the wand coming into your ownership could only be a good thing as I know you will figure out how to defeat Voldemort with it. If that is not that case, then when I face Voldemort myself, I will make sure that he doesn't hurt anyone else.

"I'm not sure what conclusion you came up to when you notice I was using, not the Elder wand but my original wand, but I will tell you now that I had no intention of dying," Dumbledore said. "I knew of course it was a possibility and I accepted that it might happened but it was my intention to keep fighting.

"Please do not grieve for me, Harry, I have lived a long and mostly happy life," Dumbledore went on with a sad smile, "I am honored that I had the pleasure to know and teach you Harry."

There was a whirl and Harry thought that he was about to go back to reality, but he found himself in one of Hogwarts' corridors about to see another memory.

"It would seem that there is one more memory I need you to see," Dumbledore said not looking at Harry but he knew it was meant for him.

"Did you say something?" Snape asked Dumbledore and as Harry walked around the corner he saw the Potion master looking at Dumbledore suspiciously.

"I was just talking to myself," Dumbledore said as if that was the most natural thing in the world. "But that can wait, I have something important to tell you."

"I'm listening," Snape said, looking more suspicious and wary.

"I fear that Voldemort will attack soon," Dumbledore said, his expression grave as he turned his eyes on the field in front of him, his wand … not the elder wand but the one that he had duel with … was out and he periodically cast a charm. Harry had no idea what the charm did, but he had a feeling that Dumbledore was somehow trying to protect those on the field fighting which he didn't think was possible but he wouldn't put pass Dumbledore.

"You should conserve your energy," Snape said frowning as he watch Dumbledore continue casting charms.

"It is not in my nature to watch people fight and do nothing to help them," Dumbledore said and Snape rolled his eyes at Dumbledore's back, but the headmaster's lip's twitched as if he knew exactly how his Potion Master had reacted to what he said. "When Voldemort comes, I will have to face him."

"You're exhausted," Snape said bluntly. "You've been manning the wards for days even now you're using so much energy trying to protect everyone …"

"Severus, I am going to face him," Dumbledore repeated, this time his tone made sure that Snape would not make any more interruption. "I'm the only one that he would fight cautiously and it is very likely that he will kill people to guaranty that I will could out to fight him.

"When that happens I need you to find Harry," Dumbledore went on and Snape gaped at him.

"The boy … but surely he doesn't have to be the one to fight the Dark Lord this time," Snape said. "Anyone could kill him now … the Horcruxes have been destroyed."

"That is true," Dumbledore said, "and it is my hope that I will be the only one to fight Voldemort. But if I should be killed …"

"No!" Snape said growing pale and Dumbledore smiled sadly at him.

"I hope not as well, but as you have pointed out I am not a full strength right now and Voldemort has not used nearly as much energy as I have the last few day," Dumbledore said.

"It still doesn't have to be Harry," Snape said gravely.

"Severus I know you have noticed, though you have yet to mentioned it to me, that I have stopped using the Elder wand," Dumbledore said and Snape had not choice but to nod his head at that, it seemed he had wanted to ask Dumbledore about that but had not yet. "That is because I am no longer it's owner."

"You gave the wand to the boy!" Snape groaned. "What were you thinking? Do you have any idea how dangerous it is for him duel the Dark Lord."

"I didn't give Harry the wand," Dumbledore said. "He won it from me on his own merits. However, he is unaware of that at the moment, which is why you will need to find him."

"Unaware?" Snape asked. "You mean you still have the wand with you?"

"Precisely," Dumbledore agreed. "And there is a good chance that Harry will figure that out. It is very likely that everyone is going to watch the duel between Voldemort and myself. He has excellent battle sense, and would likely discover I'm no longer using the Elder wand and remembered when he had disarmed me. If he is walking towards Voldemort and myself, let him go, he will already understand what he must do. If everything works out the way it should, Voldemort will find himself on the end of another rebounded killing curse. And this time he will truly be dead.

"However, if Voldemort should live after Harry has disarmed him …" Dumbledore continued to go on.

"You think Harry will disarm him?" Snape asked, looking as if he thought Dumbledore was mad.

"Oh, I'm sure of it," Dumbledore said, "it is just not clear whether Voldemort will be killed by the rebound curse or not. And if it should not," he paused there and then looked into Snape's eyes, "you should be the one that cast the curse to kill Voldemort."

"Me," Snape said in terror, he had feared the Dark Lord for decades, feared being discovered as a spy, of being tortured and killed by him.

"Everyone knows that Voldemort can not survive if there is to be peace in this world," Dumbledore said. "Harry knows that and he will do what he must. But to kill someone that is unarmed … it is not something that is in his nature and I fear what it might do to him …"

"It's the Dark Lord, I don't think anyone would have a problem killing him when he is unarmed," Snape said bitterly.

"To cause someone's death in a heated fight is one things, but to kill someone that is defenseless … that tends to leave deeper scares," Dumbledore gravely.

"What's the point of having the boy fight the Dark Lord at all if he's not going to be the one to kill him." Snape continued to argue. "Doesn't this have something to do with that prophecy …" he was unable to continued, all of his emotions seemed to drain at the last word until he was left with nothing but grief.

"The prophecy said that Harry will have the power to defeat … Defeat, not kill, the Dark Lord," Dumbledore said and Snape flinched at those words.

"What about the part that said that one must die at the other's hand …" Snape forced the words out.

"… _**and either must die at the hand of the other for neither can live while the other survives**_ …" Dumbledore said the worlds in the prophecy. "Yes that is tricky, but by disarming Voldemort, Harry would be the one that had killed him in a way … he would be the reason why Voldemort would be defeated.

"Severus, you do not have to listen to my request," Dumbledore continued, seeming not to want to talk about the prophecy any more than Snape did. "Harry will do what is needed to be done if he had no other choice, but I fear what harm that action might case him."

"And you care nothing for the harm it would do to me, to do the same," Snape grumbled, but held up his hand to stop Dumbledore from saying more. "I will think about it."

"Thank you Severus," Dumbledore smiled sadly at him. "I hope that neither Harry or you will have to join the fight, I will try my hardest to make sure that doesn't happen."

Snape nodded his head curtly, he gave Dumbledore a concern look (or Harry thought it was concern but it looked out of character on the Potion Master's face) and then turned to walk away.

Once again Harry felt as if he was whirling and this time when he opened his eyes he was back in McGonagall's office facing her as his friends stood behind him.

"What did you see?" Ron asked.

"Ron don't … he might not want to talk about it," Hermione said and when Harry looked at them, he could tell that she wanted answered probably more than Ron did, but she was trying not to push him.

"He … Dumbledore … didn't think he was going to die," Harry said and Hermione, Ginny and McGonagall all looked at him oddly, Harry had only told Ron his theory while Dumbledore and Voldemort dueled.

"Of course he didn't want to die," McGonagall said as if that was ridiculous, and tears started to fill her eyes and she seemed like she couldn't say anymore.

"I just thought it was his plan to have me fight … and it was … but he was hoping that I wouldn't have to," Harry said the lump in his chest still tight as he thought of the headmaster, but he was able to realize that Dumbledore's memories will help him in the future to deal with all of this. It was then that he realized that Ginny was sitting next to him and he put his arms around her and he closed his eyes to relaxed in his thoughts for a few minuted. Dumbledore had gone done there to protect everyone … he was trying to make sure that no one else had to be hurt and he was willing to sacrifice himself to make sure they weren't.

After a moment of peace Harry eventually got up. There was someone else he needed to talk to.

O

It took him a little while, but eventually he tracked Snape down. He found him in the Charms classroom of all places, and he knocked on the open door before he walked in cautiously.

"What do you want Potter?" Snape asked his normal cold voice but he did not turn around to look at Harry.

"How do you know it's me?" Harry asked.

"What do you want Potter?" Snape asked again.

"To thank you …" Harry said awkwardly, he wasn't sure if he agreed with Dumbledore, that it would have been painful for him to have killed Voldemort when he was unarmed, but he was glad that he never would have to find out. Snape didn't say anything to that so Harry continued, "Dumbledore left me the memory …"

"The old fool," Snape said bitterly, but there was a touch of fondness that was rarely in Snape's voice. "I would have preferred that to have remind a secret."

"Oh … right," Harry shifted on his feet uncomfortable. It was then that Snape turned around and looked into Harry's eyes, which also wasn't an usual occurrence.

"Dumbledore was right … you would have done what was necessary, but I could not take the chance that you would have been damaged by the after effects of killing someone," Snape said, his eyes locked on Harry and he had a feeling that Snape wasn't really talking to him … more to his mother. "It was the least that I could do."

"It was a lot," Harry whispered, "it helped a lot."

Snape grimaced, and turned away from him again and Harry felt it was better to leave the man to himself.


	55. Conversations

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Chapter Fifty-Five

Conversations

"Where am I?" Remus asked not sure if anyone was there.

"Remus!" Tonks voice exclaimed and she sat up.

"How long have I been out?" Remus asked worried, because Tonk's hair was mousy brown and she wasn't using her metamorphmagus abilities.

"Twenty-four hours," she answered. "Though most of it Pomfrey was keeping you sleeping because it would help you heel better.

"I'm sorry," Remus sighed, knowing even that amount of time had to be hard on her … it would have been hard on him if their position had been reversed.

"You should be," Tonks said coldly, but she couldn't keep that expression on her face for long before she smiled at him. He smiled himself, she looked so beautiful when she smiled, it didn't matter what her features are like, the smile is always to same and it brighten up her whole face. "Why did you do it Remus? Why did you run off like that? You knew that we were stronger when we stayed in rank …"

"It was Greyback," Remus sighed, "I know it was stupid but … it was Greyback."

"I know how you feel …"

"No you don't!" Remus said stiffly his face and voice hard, but he felt bad when he saw her flinch. "Sorry … it's just … I can't really understand how I felt seeing him. How he was running to the victims on the ground … and I just lost control of myself …"

Tonks sighed but she didn't say anything as she grabbed his hand and he felt reassured by the gesture.

"I hate it," Remus said bitterly. "I hate that I don't always have control over myself. What happened after I was cursed?"

"Well, me, Sirius and Em followed you to make sure that you weren't hurt …" she explained, and Remus bowed his head at the fact that because of him his friends were likely in more danger and the defense of Hogwarts had definitely been weakened, he hoped that no one was hurt because of him. "They stun you at first and then they hit you with another curse … Pomfrey said it was a curse that would make your organs fail …" she bit her lips saying this and tears started to come to her eyes, "she said that you were close … if you weren't a werewolf … you might have d-died …"

Remus didn't say anything, but he pulled Tonks up so that she was in his arms. It hurt him a little, but the comfort of having her in his arms override any of his pain. Remus started to worry when Tonks only seemed to cry harder as he held her and he wondered even more than ever what happened after he was unconscious. He didn't say anything as he laid there for a long time, and he continued to be silent when she started telling him about how Voldemort join the fight minutes after his friends had got him off the field. How Dumbledore gone out to face him and … how he had been killed.

"I can't believe it," Remus breathed out in shock.

"Neither can I and I saw it," Tonks admitted.

"What happened after that?" Remus wanted to know, because it was clear that they had won, there was no way that she would be here in his arms in a room at Hogwarts if they had lost.

"Harry …" Tonks said and Remus groaned, of course Harry would go out and fight. "Harry went out and … he disarmed Voldemort …"

"Disarmed …" Remus repeated shaking his head with a weak smile. "And the spell rebounded …"

"No," Tonks said. "Harry just Disarmed Voldemort … Snape killed him."

Remus wasn't really sure how to feel now, thinking about all that had happened, all that he had missed. Tonks had told him that all of his other love ones had lived, though there were some that were lost. He recognized every name that she had said, remembering people from his old school years that had come back to help and keep their child safe. Worse were the names of the students that he remembered teaching just a few years ago because they were so young and would have had a bright future if not for the war.

Still he couldn't help but be happy as he held the woman he loved in his arms, knowing that he will start a family with her soon and he wouldn't have to worry about a war going on. He was also glad that all of the others he loved were okay.

O

"… so there I was, standing there staring at Harry like an idiot …" Ron started to say.

"You didn't look like an idiot … more like a troll," Harry supplied.

"Thanks mate," Ron glared at him as Harry, Hermione, Ginny and Neville laughed. They had gone to the makeshieft hospital wing, visiting Neville, who was doing well though Pomfrey wanted to keep him close to make sure that he gets the potions he needs to heal.

"No problem," Harry chuckled.

"Always, Harry's all like 'I've got to fight Voldemort'," Ron said. "And I was like, 'you're completely mental mate.'"

"Which was the first time Ron's ever been right in his life," Ginny said.

"Hey!" both Ron and Harry exclaimed causing the others to laughing.

"Oh …" they heard a voice from behind them and turned to see a red face Hannah Abbott. "Sorry … I didn't know you had … um …"

"Stay," Neville said as Hannah started backing away.

"Yeah, we were just about to leave," Hermione said.

"No I was …" Ron said and she stepped on her foot. "Ow … I mean, yeah, we were just leaving."

"Idiot," Ginny said shaking her head, before she turned back to Neville, "get better soon."

"Thanks, Ginny … guys," Neville said as Hannah waited for the others to leave before she sat down near his bed. "Hey," he said shyly.

"Hey," she answered in the same tone.

"How's your dad doing?" he asked before the pause could get too uncomfortable.

"Better," Hannah said smiling at him. "Thanks to you of course."

"I didn't …" He started to say.

"Don't even try to deny it, Dad told me what you did for him," Hannah said. "And after you commanded Dobby to make me leave you like that and then got hurt … well that's the only thing keeping me form shouting at you right now."

"You're angry with me," Neville said, not really surprised.

"As angry as I can be at the person that save my dad," Hannah responded frowning before she leaned down and kissed him on the check. "Thank you."

"Ugal," Neville made some noise that didn't make any sense and she smiled at him. He cleared his throat and said, "you're welcome."

"You do have an interesting way to get a girl to like you," Hannah said smiling shyly.

"You mean by save her father," Neville said and he wondered where this boldness was coming from but it help him go on when she nodded her head still smiling at him. "Actually I think it makes the father a little less terrifying … I mean he can't really hate me anymore can he?"

"That's a good point too," Hannah laughed.

"It looks like my plan worked well," he said almost nervously now.

"Not really," Hannah said smiling, "you see I find the fact that you stayed behind to protect everyone, that you would have helped anyone that was in danger, to be even more helpful."

"Oh," Neville said stupidly, not sure what else to say to that. He also lost the ability to think as Hannah lean towards him again and he found himself sitting up and smiled broadly when their lips meet.

O

Draco grimaced at the door. He had now standing in Grimmauld Place it was a few days later and most of the students were sent home for the an extended Easter holiday to give the teachers and others time repair the castle. He would rather have put this off longer, but he knew this was a conversation he needed to have. He was about to talk to his father for the first time since his father had found out that he had been on Potter's side. He did not want to go into that room … he did not want to talk his father, but there were things that needed to be said and he was the one that had to say them.

"If you want …" his mum started to say.

"No, I must do this," Draco sighed. After the Battle of Hogwarts and everything he had face there it would be ridiculous that he would still be afraid of his father. He grabbed the door knob and walked into the room. His father was there looking worn and scruffy and completely nothing like the well organized and arrogant man that he was raised by.

"What do you want?" Lucius asked, his cold grey eyes were as hard and judgmental as Draco remembered them to be.

"To let you know what has happened," Draco said in almost exactly the same cold tone his father had.

"Seeing as you're standing in front of me, it's clear who won," Lucius said. "So, what's going to happen me now?"

"Until I come of age you are either going to stay here or in Azbakan, the choice is up to you," Draco said. "Once I'm of age, I will inherit the Malfoy estate … I will be the head of the family."

"Is that why you did this … to get control the Malfoy name and power that goes with it," Lucius asked, and though he still looked cold there was almost a hopeful and impress look in his eyes.

Draco smiled humorless as he shook his head. "That's all you ever cared about isn't it … money and power and our title."

"And family," Lucius said.

Draco gave him an odd look, not sure if his father meant that or not. "After I come of age you will be put under my care. You won't be allowed to go to the Ministry or pass any laws … you won't have an influence on anything that happens."

"So you're stripping be of all my power," Lucius huffed.

"I'm keeping you out of Azkaban, if you prefer the prison, you of course can go," Draco said simply. It was clear by the flash of panic in his father's eyes at the word Azkaban, that he would agree to his terms as Draco always knew that he would.

"I don't understand why you had to do this … we could have won?" Lucius said.

"And then what Father?" Draco asked. "What would have happened to us once the Dark Lord won?"

"We would have been placed in a position of command," Lucius said. "Perhaps not as high up after what happened last year but still, I would have worked my way up quickly …"

"Or you could have lost even more favor and power on the whims of one man," Draco pointed out.

"So you feared that you wouldn't have cut it in that environment," Lucius snorted. "You never had the subtle art of manipulation …"

"I fooled the Dark Lord for nearly a year," Draco pointed out. "Have you ever dared to do that. I have gain enough faith with Potter and the Order of the Phoenix that they will actually listen to me. Me! A son of a known Death Eater! I have kept our family name form going down with you."

"As if it matters with your mudblood loving companions," Lucius snarled.

Draco snapped at that point, the fact that his after couldn't at least see how much he had done … how many skills he had to use to keep his family safe and even come out still welding power. "Do you know what the difference is between muggleborns and purebloods … not a damn things!"

"They really have brainwashed you, haven't they?" Lucius looked at him in disgust.

"No, they didn't, but you did or at least your tried," Draco said. "Maybe you swallowed your own crap and actually believe all of this blood purity shite but the truth is your blood doesn't effect how powerful or weak you are. What I was born into was prestige, power and money. What the hell was wrong with just staying that way and not start a stupid war that has only taken away all of the advantages that I was born with. All you have succeed to do with your war is make muggleborns stronger … they've gain so much sympathy through your action and they'll have laws past to get them better position and rights."

"And even though you know that, you still choice to fight with the mudbloods … to let those filth win," Lucius spat back just as angry.

"I only did what you taught me, Father, I made sure that I would be on top," Draco shrugged, and then turned his back on him and walked out of the room. This didn't go exactly how he thought it would and he knew that in a few months after he finished his term at Hogwarts and his father comes home he's going to have a problem. His father definitely wasn't going to take well to his disgraced and hate more that he, Draco, had had an hand in that. Not that his father would have been any better off if he hadn't 'switched' sides, but Lucius definitely wasn't going to see it that way.

"How was he?" his mum asked.

"His not happy," Draco shrugged.

"Of course he's not," she sighed. "I wish there was a way to make him see …"

"Well there's not," Draco snapped and she raised her eyebrow at him. "Sorry."

"Let's go home," his mum sighed, she knew better than anyone how much his father could effect his moods. She understood the trouble that they were going to have in the future and she was going to be there to help him.

"Yeah," Draco agreed.

"I supposed this means I'm going to have my house guess for a while longer," Sirius said when they walked into the living room. "And here I was imagining that he would want to go to Azkaban."

Draco glared at his cousin.

"Sorry," Sirius sighed. "I shouldn't have said that out loud."

"What an apology?" Draco said dryly.

"It's the best I can offer," Sirius shrugged.

Draco actually was glad that the man didn't work on pretenses and just said what he felt like. It was easier to deal with rather than the way that he had to talk to his father, showing him that he wasn't weak and wouldn't give in easily.

"You're always welcome to come over for an Easter feast," Sirius then said, "or any other time in the next few days."

"We'll think about it," his mum answered politely, but Draco was sure that they weren't going to come back to this house until summer time. He nodded his head at his cousin and then they used the floo to get back to Malfoy manner. When he got there he noticed that Theodore was reading on the couch. Seeing as his father was now in Azkaban and he had no other close family, Draco had invited the other boy over to say the two week holiday with them. Besides after the battle, fighting together for days and saving each other lives, he felt that he had found a good friend in the wily, smart aleck boy.

"I see that you had a lot of luck with your father today," Theodore said.

"As much as you will if you ever talk to your father again," Draco snapped back.

"I'm not stupid enough to have that talk," Theodore said. "Besides there are lots of difference between us, the biggest of which is that you've help save him."

"Not that he sees it that way," Draco grumbled sitting down on the couch and glared at Theodore as he laughed.

"Of course he wouldn't no more that my dad would if I did the same," Theodore said.

"You might be able to get your father off, too," Draco pointed out, but he knew what Theodore would have to say to that.

"My father would kill me if I did," he said grimly. "That would be a poor way for me to repay you for saving my life."

It was clear that he was changing the subject and it was done with no finesse at all so Draco knew how much he really didn't want to talk about this. What Theodore had said was true though, Draco had saved his life during the battle. He had actually tackled the other boy to pull him out of the way of a Killing Curse and nearly got hit by the curse at the same time. That was not something that he would ever think of doing again, but still he was glad Theodore was okay. It was really good to have someone that knew somewhat what he was going through.

"I was just repaying what I owed you," Draco said with a shrugged.

"I'm sure it was more than that, but as long as you admit that we're even … well, I'll just have to agree with you," Theodore said with a smirk and Draco rolled his eyes.

**A/N: So, I'm basically done with my story, or at least I've done all the things in this story that I had thought of originally. I suppose I could do a few chapters about what will happen in Harry's seventh year after everything that happened but I'm not sure if that will make the story flounder and without a clear idea of what I want to do I probably wouldn't update regularly which has never worked well for me. I'm thinking about putting up an epilogue and ending this story and then if I get more idea's about what I want to happen later I'd make a sequel.  
**


	56. Epilogue: Eight Years Later

**Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter or any of the characters.**

**A/N: Thanks to MiaCara, who is my beta for this story.**

Epilogue

Eight Years Later

Harry sat down behind his desk after he had paced for the last five minutes. He couldn't seemed to focus on his work today, just like he hadn't for the last three days. He would have gone home but he had been kicked out because he was making Ginny too nervous. He couldn't believe how much had happened this last year. After years of dating he had finally had gotten married to the love of his life earlier in the year and now he was moments away from being a father.

"You haven't done any of the paper work, have you?" Ron said walking into the office that they shared. After they had finished Hogwarts they had decided to become Aurors together. Though for the first few years they hadn't been partners, instead paired with some of the seasoned Aurors, as they got promoted up the ranks they had ended up proving they worked the best together.

"Did you really think I would?" Harry chuckled, though he noticed a nervous edge to it. Everything he did these last few days was nervous.

"I can't believe that boy that faced the most powerful dark wizard of all time turned into a man that's terrified of about being a father," Ron laughed.

"I'm not terrified," Harry denied as he rolled his eyes. "Besides, you'll see when it happens to you. I bet you'll be much worse than I am."

"I won't deny that," Ron said still laughing, "but seeing as it's your turn …"

"Whatever," Harry shook his head but he was glad his friend was here, Ron was good at distracting him from worrying.

"Well, speaking of my turn," Ron went on as a broad smiling spending across his face, "it's will be coming up pretty soon."

"What?" Harry said in shock, "are you serious?"

"Nah, Sirius is your godfather Harry, can't you tell the difference between us," Ron said still smiling, as Harry glared at him. "But yeah, Hermione just told me."

"Brilliant!" Harry said getting up and clapping him on the back. "Congratulation!"

"Thanks," Ron beamed. "You know it's getting close to lunch."

"I'm not hungry," Harry said.

"You mean you don't think the owl will get to you quickly enough in the caf," Ron guess correctly. "Come on mate, we're going to lunch, it's like what Mum always says, 'you need some fattening up.'"

"Okay," Harry sighed, hoping that this would be a good distraction. "You know, I think my son knows he going to be name after my dad. He probably thinks it's funny to make me a nervous git."

"Well, you know a mischievous sense of humor comes from both sides of the family … at least my kids will be half bookworms," Ron chuckled.

"I don't know whether I should be insulted or pleased by that comment," a woman's voice said from behind them and both boys turned to find Hermione standing there with narrowed eyes directed at Ron. He disregarded the look and step in to give her a quick kiss.

"Always chose to pleased by my comments," he whispered to her chuckling and she rolled her eyes at him. "Want to join us for lunch?"

"I was actually coming to talk to you about something …"

"Did you have word from Ginny?" Harry cut her off and she give him a pitying look.

"No, it more to do with the training mission that Ron and you are supposed to take charge of next week," Hermione said.

"The one that I'm probably going to get out of now," Harry said, he was planning on taking at least a few weeks off after his son was born.

"Thanks a lot mate," Ron grumbled, "not doing any paper work and you're going to leave me high and dry for the training."

"Yes because that's the reason why I'm having a child, to get out of work," Harry rolled his eyes. He noticed that Hermione was looking at him with narrowed eyes then and she looked at Ron, who's ears were starting to turn red with wariness.

"I can't believe you!" Hermione glared at Ron. "You told him, didn't you?"

"Er …"

"We were supposed to tell him together! You promised me you wouldn't say anything!"

"Well, I didn't mean to," Ron rubbed the back of his head and looked at Harry to try to bail him out of trouble. "We got to taking and I sort of blurted it out."

"I'm going to make you pay for this, Ronald Weasley," she huffed and Ron gulped as she glared at him.

"Um … congratulation," Harry said trying as always to break the tension between his friends.

"I didn't want to tell you until after James was born," Hermione sighed as she turned to Harry.

"Then you probably shouldn't have told this git about it, you know he can never hold in good news," Harry chuckled as Ron glared at him but Hermione actually laughed too. Harry then hugged her and again said, "congratulation."

"Thanks," she was simply beaming. "I wanted to wait to tell you and everyone else until after Ginny gave birth."

"Why?" Harry asked confused.

"You wouldn't understand," Hermione rolled her eyes at him.

"Clearly Ron doesn't either," Harry pointed out.

"It's my fault for picking clueless boys as my best friends," Hermione sighed.

"Hey you know you love us," Harry pouted.

"Of course," Hermione agreed.

That was when Ron wrapped his arms around Hermione and pulled her towards his chest. "But you love me the most."

"You're never going to stop being jealous are you," Hermione sighed.

"Never," Ron agreed and lean down to kiss her.

"And you guys aren't never going to remember no one wants to see that," Harry grumbled playfully as they broke off their kiss to look at him and soon they were all heading for the caf. They were halfway there when one of the training Aurors tapped Harry on the shoulder.

"Mr. Potter, I just got this owl for you," he said holding out a note and Harry quickly grabbed.

"Argh!" Harry growled crumpling up the message.

"What is it?" Hermione asked.

"Effing Fred and George," Harry snapped.

Ron started sniggering as he took the note that was in Harry's hand and reading it.

_I bet you thought this was from Ginny!_

There wasn't really much to the message but there didn't really need any more than that.

"Gits," Harry snarled as he sat down angry at one of the empty table. Ron was pretty sure he was included in the 'gits' since he was still laughing, but he thought that getting Harry some food will appease him.

"That really wasn't very nice of them," Hermione sighed, sitting next to Harry.

"No, but really, I feel like I should have known it was from them," Harry shrugged.

"Just remember, I'll help you if you want to kill them," Ron said sitting down with two trays piled with food on them.

"Thanks," Harry smiled at him.

"I've been looking for you all over the place," a drawing voice said from behind them.

"It's nice to see you too Draco," Hermione sighed, "what is it this time?"

"Murphy been on my case about the proposal that we've been working on," Draco said sitting down at the table. He had decided to work in the Department of Law Enforcement and he and Hermione occasionally had to work together.

"No one invited you to sit," Ron huffed.

"Don't worry Weasel I won't be here long," Draco smirked at him and Ron rolled his eyes.

"The least you can do is come up with a new insult," Ron grumbled.

"I lost my appetite for that years ago," Draco sighed. "So Hermione can we please go and get this damn proposal over with so we can go back to just waving at each other from across the hallway."

"When have you ever waved at me?" Hermione asked.

"Exactly," Draco smiled.

"Ah Draky, if you keep talking like that I'm going to think you don't like me," Hermione said and he glared at her.

"Harry as long as I've got you here," Draco said turning away form the chuckling Hermione. "I was just wondering what's going to happen at my father's next appointment …?"

"Don't worry, I'm going to be there like always," Harry sighed, he didn't really want to, but it was a favor he agreed to do for Draco after he had became an Auror. Lucius Malfoy insisted on being shown respect even in his disgrace. And what better way than having the Boy-Who-Live to be the one to interview him each year to make sure he deserved his parole. If Draco hadn't asked him, he wouldn't gone near that job, but knowing that it made Draco and Narcissa time easier, he agreed to do it.

"Thanks," Draco sighed, he didn't like saying that word very much, especially to Harry, who was still half rival and almost friend to him. "You know, I never thought I would be a twenty-four year old still living with his parents."

Ron sniggered at that. "You're lucky you found a girl that would marry you knowing she had to live with her in-laws."

"Yes, I am lucky," Draco smiled genuinely and even his eyes warmed as he thought of his wife. He considered himself lucky with everything that Astoria has done for him.

"I think we're all pretty lucky actually," Hermione said kissing Ron on the check as she got up. "Are you ready Malfoy."

"Whenever you are Granger," Draco answered.

"It's Weasley now," Hermione corrected.

"I prefer not to think of you that way," Draco said.

"Oi!" Ron complained. "And what's that suppose to mean!"

"Use your imagination Weasel," Draco smirked.

"Honestly Ronald," Hermione rolled her eyes, "he was just smiling like a git at the mention of his wife."

"I was not smiling like a git!" Draco complained.

"Yeah, you were," Harry said.

"Whatever," Draco huffed, though he clearly wasn't that bothered, he still left the caf with Hermione.

"He's still a git," Ron commented, though he didn't seemed to care about that anymore as he attacked his food.

"Maybe," Harry shrugged, he lost interest in this conversation too as he impatiently waited for a owl to come to him.

O

"Do you really have to keep bothering me about this," Sirius complained as he handed glasses to his cousins Andromeda and Narcissa. "I'm happy."

"Of course your happy," Andromeda rolled her eyes, "but don't you think you could be happy and a be productive member of our society?"

"Well of course I can be … I just don't want to be," Sirius said, he had never got a job of any kind and he wasn't planning on that changing any time soon.

"Daaaad," a boy screamed before entering the room. He had dark hair (just as perfect as Sirius's use to be) and grey eyes that had a mischievous glint to them. "Dad! Teddy stole my toy."

"Oh, really?" Sirius asked with narrowed eyes, "that doesn't sound like Teddy … are you sure that's how it happened?"

"No it's not Uncle Padfoot," a girl said, she had sandy hair and a heart shape face, and though she was upset that she didn't inherit the metamorphmagus ability like her mum and brother that didn't stop her from idolizing her big brother.

"You're supposed to me on my side," the boy that was now in Sirius's arms complained.

"So Reg, are you going to tell me what really happened?" Sirius asked, he had named his son after the bother he still missed.

His son made a pouty face, "you don't believe me daddy."

"Not with that face," Sirius chuckled. "What have I told you about lying Reg?"

"Make sure it's believable," Reg answered with a sigh.

"Exactly."

"Sirius!" Andromeda gasped.

"What?" Sirius said with a smirk, "it's good advise."

"What do you expect Andy, he's still just a big kid himself," Narcissa smiled at her older sister and they exchanged exasperated looks.

"So now, little man, what happened?" Sirius asked his son again.

Reg just shook his head.

"We just wanted to hear one of your stories Uncle Padfoot," Teddy said coming into the room.

"And you say I don't have a job," Sirius said to his eldest cousin, "taking care of these rugrats are a full time affair."

"Well I can't argue with that one," Andromeda allowed as her granddaughter sat next to her.

"Story," she demanded.

"Okay Delilah, I'll tell you a story," Sirius said smiling at the girl. Tonks had insisted that she had normal name … or at least not a name like Nymphadora.

However, Sirius didn't even get to start the story because just at that moment an owl flew into the house. Sirius quickly picked up the note and read through it, though he knew what it was going to say. "I've got to go," he said a smile spreading across his face.

"What is it Daddy?" Reg demanded.

"It's from Molly, Ginny is going into labor!" Sirius said excitedly and handing Reg to Andromeda. "Can you look after the kids."

"Of course," she said.

"But I want to go to Harry's!" Teddy pouted, Harry was still his godfather.

"Yah, me too!" Delilah agreed.

"Me too!" Reg echoed.

"You know that the other kids are probably going to be there too," Andromeda pointed out. "Victoire at the very least."

"I want to go!" Teddy demanded again and Sirius chuckled.

"Alright, kids, I guess we can all go," he gave in, musing Teddy's hair and take Reg back from Andromeda. "You guys are welcome to come if you want," he added to his cousins.

"I think we'll just stay here for a while, I'm sure there are already going to be too many people there, but give Harry and Ginny our congratulations," Andromeda said and Narcissa nodded in agreement.

Sirius then was flooing out of his house with the kids. He couldn't believe that Harry was already becoming a father when he himself only had done it five years before this. He could still remember Harry as a tiny baby himself, and how it felt holding the kid of the first time. He hated the fact that it was twelve years later that he got to see Harry again. He clearly remembered Harry as the little boy that … well …. tried to kill him the first them they meet face to face, but he preferred to think of time when he asked Harry to live with him and how excited Harry was about that.

Once he flooed into the Potter's house he walked into the living room which hosted most of the Weasley family, the kids went immediately to the corner that had the other kids (including as Andromeda had guess, Victoire). Sirius on the other hand went to Arthur shaking his hand and asking excitedly, "did I miss anything?"

"Just Gin cursing at Harry when he got here," Ron as the one that actually answered.

"Yeah, well that happens," Sirius chuckled remembered the shouting that he had to endure when Emmeline was giving birth to Regulus.

"And it doesn't get any better with time," Arthur added, smiling fondly. "I think you were the most difficult out of all of them," he added nodding his head at Ron.

"Even more so than the twins?" Ron asked.

"Actually their birth went surprisingly smooth," Arthur chuckled. "The only time they seemed to not cause trouble."

It was around that time that Remus came.

"What's this, is the professor actually ditching work," Sirius said patting Remus on the back. Remus had been offered a job back at Hogwarts a few years ago and he was happy to accepted.

"All of my classes were finished for the day," Remus said, "I did run into Severus on my way out though."

"Oh … and what did that slimy git have to say?" Sirius asked, though the insult no longer held the venom it once had.

"He said he as going to make the most of his 'James Potter' free years at Hogwarts and he's already looking for his next job," Remus said.

"Darn, why couldn't Harry of had a kid sooner, if that was all it took to get rid of Snape," Sirius said with his barking laugh. "Reg is going to have to suffer four years with that git."

"He's not that bad," Remus said laughing himself. "He's gotten a lot better since … well … you know."

"Yeah," Sirius agreed.

"Well, anyway, Neville and Minerva also send their regards," Remus added, changing the subject.

"Oh, yeah, so does Andy and Cissy," Sirius added.

More people seemed to keep piling into the room and everyone talked excitedly as if they were at a party.

O

"Gin!" Harry shouted as soon as he popped into the house (well before people had started gathering in the living room) that they shared together. He had just got the message that he had been waiting for and he ran to the master bedroom out of breath. "Are you okay …" he asked when he got in the room and saw her in their bed.

"Do I look okay Potter?" she snapped, her face was sweaty and she was breathing heavily.

"Oh Harry dear, thank goodness your here," Molly said, "now Ginny, keep breathing."

"What the hell else do you think I'm doing Mum?"

Harry was glad to find out that his ability to keep a clear head in a battle seemed to kick in at that moment and he acted without thinking. Moving to support her and doing everything that Molly had taught him to do in the last few months. It still wasn't easy, and the labor seemed to take hours ... days maybe ... but eventually it happened.

He was in the bed, Ginny leaning against his chest exhausted but she had a tire smile on her face as Molly handed them their crying son. Ginny cradled him to her as Harry squeezed her closer to him with one arm and added his other hand to hers.

"He's everything I imagined and more," Harry said awed that the tiny baby, with a tuft of red hair and blinking blue eyes seemed to fill his heart with so much joy. "You're going to cause me so many head aches, I know it," he cooed to his son with a wide grinned wiggling his finger in front of the baby as James reached up and grabbed it. "Yes you are."

"He's already caused me enough head aches," Ginny giggled and looked up at Harry, who beamed down at her and kissed her briefly.

"When are you going to be ready to have another one," he asked.

"Not for a long time Potter," she grumbled and he laughed. "And from what Mum said, you probably wouldn't after a few weeks of being a new parent."

"I know, I know," Harry agreed. "But at his moment, I can't wait to have ten more just like him." '

Ginny didn't say anything, but she leaned back into his arms and he could feel that she knew what he meant. They had stayed in there just the three of them in comfortable silence for a while before the bedroom door opened and their family and love one came in to congratulate them.

First was Ron and Hermione, little James's godparents. They were closely followed by Sirius, who insisted on calling James his grandgodson, causing Harry to laugh. Then Emmeline was by his side telling them congratulations … then it was Remus and Tonks … when the twins walked into the room, Harry remembered throwing a pillow at them (the only thing he could throw) and they just laughed it off … the rest of the Weasley family seemed to come in and out of view and Harry wasn't really sure what was said or done, all he knew was he had never been happier in his life.

**A/N: I hope you like my ending to this story. I decided to have this chapter only be eight years from the end of the Battle for two reasons. One, I didn't really want to mess with the way that JK had ending the series because I really love that ending. Two, I thought I've said it more than once that Harry was really looking forward to starting a family of his own and this was the day that he would finally get that. I tried to include everyone in this so that was why I added the part with Sirius to show more of the characters.  
**

**As for a sequel, I'm not sure if or when I will do it, but it would probably be about how they get from the battle to this epilogue. I would have to say that the sequel would likely deal mostly with the development of the relationship and not have that much action, which is another reason why I think it's good that I'm ending this story here. For one thing, I tried not to have too much Harry/Ginny in this story because half of the people don't like that pair and the other half want more of it. It hard to appease everyone but as long as Voldemort was still alive and a battle going on, there was a focus that I could write about and it was understandable that the romance was in the back ground (with the exception of perhaps Ron/Hermione because that's my favorite pairing and I like writing it). **

**And lastly, I want to thank everyone that read this story and a special thanks to everyone who reviewed. I know I don't ask for reviews … and I'm not very good a responding to them … but I do really appreciate every one of them and I do read them all. Thanks so much to: **

**Laura Luna Weasley Potter, XXXMariellaXXX, Xterker23, dogsby Above the Winter Moodlight, MerlinGodricRowenaHelga, Weaving Radiance, NeverthelessAFan, MasterBrattan, RAY EVAN, nightwing27, RRW, ashcakes22, Lawsy89, shiftyless, Tmbookworm, dahilsaiyo, Sky-Angel14, InvictusUnum, SarahBear22, Connortemple4evaneva, Phnxfyr1, IWillForeverMissYou, carlaisabel, ravenlovestwilight, azulaiii, Hopeful Sapphire, Lady Anomaly, ThePip6, Amerilia Lily Lotus, lilnudger82, birdy, fan-freak121, Any Ferreira Potter, emicattt, jammin287, UltimateLoveStorys, xThatxOnexChick, Fuyutaro son, ykickamoocow111, Sam, Cwam, anon, Aslan's Prodigal Girl, Luiz4200, Selene467, Janelly Slytherin, , MelanieCarter15, The Fourth Bride, WARPED KAWAII, syNemYoA, Ima Quidditch Fan, glistening moon, darkXwolf, Crismebella, Phoenixhp5t3, NessAliceLautner, MarieLewis, Trisha Whitlock, You Love Gossip Girl OXOX, Javi'Cullen'Potter, LadyDraxx, NickyLee308, digitalmonster911, Umbra8191, sarlovesoccer, Chocogirl24, Dimcairien, solar1, Inumaru12, Sakiq-Toshi, AmayaSora, midnight shadow of darkness, lija, Haruhi-chan131, The Hare and the Otter, Daku Mauji, cazares.a, h-g-j-l-e-r-k, Wishtofly, Pinellas62, Raiha Laf Qyaza, The Last Eggs. 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Snape, Shiroi Majo, Jeziik, 1CharmedPhoenix, , omegarulessall, Ashely, mwinter1, My Flawed Design, xXSectumesmperaXx, Lys8375, chloerochkslikeme, SailorSea, Elwen3, sPaZzIe MaChInE 12, kgryfferin98, merlinsc, Flavio S, GothGirl3030, reviewer, tph1-RSM6, omegarulesall, Point Given, reader the one, This Marauder Is Sirius, AlwaysGryffindor13, filledeneige, shine lots, iwantbirthdaycake, .x, JoojooBrother, iloveharrypotter, Jedi Master Albus, mimichamp, Limanehious, Dragonclaw11, MizukiYumeko, MichaelaTheUchiha, Tuna Banana, ramsay, dreams823, Sailor Celaeno, JoshRand1982.**


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